Jn.3:16 is the Most Misunderstood Verse in the Bible (revised)

Imagine if someone came up to you one day and asked you what he had to do in order to be saved. What would you tell him? You would tell him the Gospel. We may express it in different ways, but basically you would tell him something like this – that he could not work for his salvation, that he could only depend on and trust in Jesus’ atoning death to be accepted as righteous before God, that in order to do that he needed to confess his sins and accept Jesus as his Savior, then his sins would be forgiven and he would be saved. Where did we get this from? We got it basically from the most well known and loved verse in the Bible : Jn.3:16.

What about Lk.10:25-28?

Our basic understanding of salvation however needs to be reconsidered. In Lk.10:25-28, an expert in the law came to Jesus and asked Him, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” That is no doubt the same as asking what he had to do to be saved, right? What did Jesus reply? Did He tell the man he had to confess his sins and accept Him as his savior? No he did not. Instead, Jesus asked him, “What does your law say? How do you understand it?” The man answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.” In response Jesus said, “You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live.”

Most Christians take Jn.3:16 to be their basis for salvation. They have never considered or even regarded Lk.10:25-28 as having anything to do with salvation. But Jesus made it very clear in Lk.10:25-28 that in order for us to have eternal life we would have to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and love our neighbors as ourselves.

Can we excuse ourselves from Lk.10:25-28?

I often teach that we have to understand salvation not only from Jn.3:16 but also from Lk.10:25-28. In one of the seminars I taught, someone disagreed with that and said I was teaching the wrong thing. He said, “To be honest, I must admit that I do not love my neighbor as myself. If what you say is true, then that means I am not saved. What you are telling me is that I still need to earn my salvation with good works, and so, as soon as this seminar ends, I need to rush out and go and love a poor man down the street to make sure I am saved. You are confusing us. You are taking us back to the law!”

Was Jesus making this – loving God and our neighbors – an additional requirement to what He said in Jn.3:16? Is it not enough just to trust in Jesus for our salvation? Why does our salvation have anything to do with loving God and loving our neighbors? How do we reconcile what Jesus said in Jn.3:16 with what He said in Lk.10:25-28?

There are people who say Lk.10:25-28 is not for Christians. It was for the Jews. Jesus was speaking to the expert in the law, a Jew. But if that was only for the Jews, then what about Jn.3:16? In Jn.3:16 Jesus was talking to Nicodemus, also a Jew. In fact almost everything Jesus said in the gospels, He was speaking to Jews. So what makes us think that Lk.10:25-28 was for Jews, but Jn.3:16 is for us? Which part of the gospels is for the Jews and which part is for us?

The same with the parable of the sheep and goats in Matt.25:31-46. In that parable, Jesus made it clear that only the sheep who loved were saved. The goats were condemned to hell. I have heard people tell me that that does not apply to Christians. That applies only to the Jews. There are others who say that that actually applies only to unbelievers. That is how the unbelievers will be judged. According to them, there is another judgment for believers. So interesting isn’t it, how we try to excuse ourselves from the need to love? Think about this : Would God require a greater degree of love from Jews and unbelievers than from believers? And was Jesus saying that Jews and unbelievers can be saved by loving believers without the need to trust in Him for salvation?

How has Jn.3:16 been misunderstood?

I believe there is actually no inconsistency between what Jesus said in Lk.10:25-28 and in Jn.3:16. Neither is loving God and loving our neighbour an additional requirement to Jn.3:16. Both are consistent with the parable of the sheep and goats in Matt.25:31-46 (please stop for a moment to consider this), and also consistent with other things that Jesus said about dying to self and loving others. Most of all, they are consistent with God’s plan of restoring everything back to His original design where we are one with Him and one with others – this what I aim to show this this article.

Most Christians have reduced Jn.3:16 to : “accept Christ and you will be saved (meaning you will be saved from hell and you will be forever with God in heaven when you die). But that is a misunderstanding of Jn.3:16 based on two things in verse that are commonly misunderstood : “believe” and “eternal life”.

What is the meaning of “believe” in Jn.3:16?

Most people think that “believe” in Jn.3:16 is about a change of belief – from Buddha, or Khrisna, or Siva, or Brahma, or Islam or atheism to Jesus. But that is not what the word “believe” in Jn.3:16 means. In Jn.3:16 the word “believe” in the original Greek, is “pisteuo” which means a total trust and abandonment of oneself upon the object of the belief. There is no English word that is equivalent in meaning to the word “pisteuo”. The closest word that the translators could find for the word “pisteuo” is “believe”. So they translated “pisteuo” as “believe”. But the word “believe” on its own does not convey what “pisteuo” actually means.  “Pisteuo” describes an action that is like sitting on a chair – you put your entire weight on the chair. You abandon yourself and rest totally on the chair – in complete trust. It conveys the idea of yielding or surrendering. The word “faith”, in the original Greek, is “pistis”, the noun of “pisteuo”, and means the same thing.

Thus a person would not perish but have eternal life only if he believed in Jesus in the sense of yielding and surrendering totally to Him as Lord. Jesus said that unless a man forsake all he cannot be His disciple (Lk.14:33). Paul expressed it this way, “I am crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives within me. And the life I now live, I live by faith (pistis) in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Gal.2:20). So the “believe” in Jn.3:16 is actually about total surrender. Not just about trusting in Him to save us.

“But I have accepted Jesus as Lord”

Many may claim that they have accepted Jesus not only as their savior but also as their Lord. But what do they mean by that? From what I’ve observed as I travel and teach in many parts of the world, for many Christians, when they say Jesus is their Lord, what they mean is something like this:  “I now believe and accept that Jesus is the Almighty God over all other spirits, powers and gods. He is in control of every situation, and therefore He will watch over me and protect me from all harm and danger and bless me.” So for them, Jesus is their “Lord”, but they have not surrendered to Jesus as Lord of their lives. They have never yielded or handed over ownership and control of their lives – their rights, their possessions, their career, their ambitions, their desires, their minds, their wills and their hearts, in total submission to Him as Lord.

What is “eternal life”?

Eternal life is understood by most Christians as being forever with God in heaven. But in Jn.17:3, Jesus said, “This is eternal life, that they may know you the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” Eternal life was described by Jesus not in terms of place or length of time, but as “knowing” (Greek : ginosko) God. “Ginosko” is the same Greek word used in the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) for how Adam knew Eve his wife and she gave birth to Cain (Gen.4:1). Ginosko is about two uniting together and becoming one.

In other words, eternal life is about being united with God and becoming one with Him (see 1 Cor.6:16-17). So in effect what Jesus said in Jn.3:16 is that whoever would return to God and surrender his life totally to Him, shall not be separated from Him but shall become united (become one) with Him.

[Note that this is not the same as the Hindu (or Buddhist parallel) concept of attaining moksha when you become one with the Brahman and you lose your self or identity. In the Bible, when we are one with God, we do not lose our identity or become nothing. The Biblical concept of being one with God is perhaps better described as being one heart or one spirit with God (see Jn.17:21-23)].

Being one with God begins in this life when we are born again, and it carries on into the next. And if we are one with God, and God is eternal, then we too would be forever with Him. But the main thing about eternal life is not about living forever and ever. It is about being one with God. To put it simply, man separated himself from God. So he has to return to God and become united with Him.

But to return to God, we have to surrender ourselves to God. Why? Because when man separated from God and became independent, we became kings over our own kingdoms.

Jn.3:16 is the solution. But what is the problem?

Actually, the main reason why most Christians have a misunderstanding of Jn.3:16 and of salvation is not because they do not know the Greek word “pisteuo”, or its meaning. Their misunderstanding stems actually from not understanding the problem. When we do not understand the problem, we cannot understand the solution. Or we misinterpret the solution. In other words, to fully understand Jn.3:16 as the solution, we first need to understand the problem.

If we think the problem of man is that he is going to hell, then Jn.3:16 and salvation is seen only as an escape from hell to go to heaven when we die. But the problem is not hell and the solution is not heaven. The problem is that man became separated from God when he decided to be independent of God. For a fuller treatment of this subject, please read :

https://acts1322issachar.wordpress.com/2009/09/26/what-happened-in-the-garden-of-eden/

We must understand that the problem of man is not only that he disobeyed God but that he became his own god. Satan’s half-truth “you will be like God” worked. Instead of listening to God, Adam made an independent decision to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. When he received the knowledge of good and evil from that tree to discern for himself what was good or evil, and what was right or wrong, from that point onwards he no longer depended on God but relied on his own wisdom to decide things for himself. God was no longer his center. He became his own center. That’s how man became self-centered. That self-centeredness is the sin nature that Paul talked about in Romans 6 and 7.

It is because of this sin nature in us, our independence and lordship over our own lives, our self-centeredness, that we are separated from God. So it is not enough that we just trust in Jesus to save us from hell. The root of the problem has to be dealt with. In other words, it is not only our sins that separate us from God. It is our sin nature that separates us from God. Paul addressed this at length in Romans 6, 7 and 8. Sins may be confessed and forgiven. But what about the “engine” in us that keeps producing the sins? In other words, we need not only the blood of Christ (Rom.3), we need the cross of Christ (Rom. 6). The Adamic sin nature/self-centredness in us has to die. In other words, no one is truly born again and reconciled to God unless he first dies to himself. That is what “pisteuo” is about. In God’s Kingdom there can be only one King and one God. We cannot be in God’s Kingdom if we remain king and god over ourselves. Wolfgang Simson says it well. He said, when we pray “Let Your Kingdom come” we need to add “Let my kingdom go”.

Back to original design

To understand a problem, to understand any problem, we need to go back and look at the original design of whatever has broken down. So to further understand the problem of man, we need to ask what was God’s original design for man.

We were not designed to be independent of God, but to be one with God (Jn.17:3 ginosko). For this reason Jesus spoke about Him being the Vine and we the branches (Jn.15) and about God the Father and Him dwelling in us when we believe (pisteuo) in Him (Jn.14). Instead of operating independently on our own wisdom which we got from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, Pr.3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.” To acknowledge Him is to say to Him, “You are God and I am not”. That is what true repentance is. It is when we surrender our kingdoms that we can enter into God’s Kingdom and become one with God again. Now it makes sense why we have to believe/surrender in order to be one with God again, doesn’t it?

What happens when we are one with God?

What happens if we are one with God? When we are one with God, we will feel what’s on His heart and we would love as He loves. So then what Jesus said in Lk.10:25-28 is really no different in effect from what He said in Jn.3:16. Who are those who are truly born again and have eternal life? Those who are one with God. Being one with God, they will love as He loves.

The apostle John said that if we know (ginosko) God, meaning if we are one with God, we would love, because God is love, and His love would be in us. Those who do not love, do not know (ginosko) God (1 Jn.4:8), meaning they are not one with God. Love for others is thus the natural outcome and evidence of a truly born again person. John tells us that it is by our love that we know we have passed from death to life, and that we belong to the truth (see 1 Jn.3:14-19). Matt.25:31-46 on the sheep and goats confirms to us who are actually born again. In the end Jesus will divide between those who were truly His sheep (who knew His heart and loved as He loved) and those who were the goats (those who did not). 

Where is the confusion?

Many have never considered Lk.10:25-28 as having anything to do with salvation. But when that is brought to their attention, they are usually confused. Their confusion usually has to do with one or more of three things :

First, they think that Jesus was confirming the law of the OT – that it required people to do good works in order to qualify for eternal life, but they also think that after Jesus died, salvation is by grace, so that passage no longer applies. But salvation whether in the OT or NT has never been by works of the law. Paul made that very clear in Romans and Galatians. Salvation has always been by the grace and mercy of God.

Second, when Jesus talked about love, they think He was talking about doing good works in order to qualify for salvation. But that was not what Jesus said. When you do something good in order to earn some merit for yourself, that’s not love. I will say more about this below.

Third, they think the legal expert was asking how he could enter heaven when he dies. But that is not what he asked. He asked how to have “eternal life” as something he could have while he was still alive. Jesus’ answer was “Do this and you will live” (verse 28). He did not say, “Do this and you will have eternal life after you die.” The legal expert accepted Jesus’ answer that eternal life is something that can be experienced in this life. He did not say to Jesus, “Hang on, why are you talking about this life when I was asking you about what happens after I die?” Jesus’ answer corresponds to what He said about eternal life in Jn.3:16 and Jn.17:3. If we love God and love others, we would be one with God, and if we are one with God, then His life, His eternal life would be in us.

There are 3 words for life in Greek : Bios, which is about physical life, Psuche which is the soul or mind, and Zoe which is the life of the Spirit. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life (zoe)” (Jn.14:6). Zoe is the life of God that begins in you when you are reunited with God. Not something that begins after you die and go to heaven. John said, “He who has the Son has life (zoe). He who does not have the Son of God does not have life (zoe).” (1 Jn.5:12). John was talking about God’s eternal life in us. If we are one with God, His eternal life would be in us.

So let’s get this straight. The legal expert was not asking how he could get to heaven, and Jesus was not prescribing what we need to do in order to qualify for a place in heaven. Instead, He was simply confirming to the legal expert that he would have eternal life, meaning he would have the life of God and be one with God, when he loves God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loves his neighbour as himself.

What is love?

What happens when you love someone and that person loves you in return? When two persons are in love with each other, their hearts are joined together as one. You become one with the person you love. What happens when you love God? When you love God, you become one with Him. Jesus said in Jn.17:3 that’s eternal life!

So the legal expert gave the correct answer – you will have eternal life in you if you love God and love others. But the problem with the legal expert was that he didn’t understand what it means to love. He was thinking like a lawyer – thinking in terms of rights and obligations, and the pre-conditions that one needs to fulfil in order to qualify for something.

Unfortunately many people do not know what love is because they have never really known love. All their lives they have been under a sense of duty and obligation or expectation from their parents, from their teachers, from their friends, from their bosses, from their religion, and from society around them to “perform” in order to earn the approval of others. So they naturally attribute this to God also. Then someone comes and tells them they do not need to earn God’s approval. Salvation is free. They heave a sigh of relief and gladly “accept Christ”. Then I come along and point out Lk.10:25-28 to them! I am not saying it, but in their ears they are hearing me say that they need to get back to earning God’s approval in order to be saved.

Those who do not know what love is will mistakenly equate love with doing good works. Although love is expressed in good works, it is not love if someone does good works because he thinks that it will qualify him for eternal life. If we do good works to be good enough, or spiritual enough, or to fulfil a religious duty, or because we think it will save us, not only is that wrong theology, that’s not loving others. That’s focusing on ourselves and trying to save ourselves. That’s religion. Why did the legal expert ask “What must I do to have eternal life?” and why did he ask “Who is my neighbor?” Was he concerned for people in need? No, he was not. He was concerned for himself. He wanted to make sure he had eternal life. But love is not self-focused or self-centred. Love is “other-centred.”

When we love someone, it would be a joy and delight for us to do something for someone. Not a burdensome sense of duty or obligation that I must do something. It is sad but many people do not know love because they have never experienced love. This is often the case with those who have grown up under very cold and strict disciplinarian fathers. I know what that means because I grew up under such a father. But I want to give you the good news. The good news is that you can be healed – you can go to God and experience His love.

There will also be no confusion if we understand that salvation is not from hell to heaven but from Satan’s Kingdom to God’s Kingdom (Col.1:13). What does it mean to be in God’s Kingdom? God’s Kingdom is a Kingdom of love. It is opposite to this world. It is opposite to Satan’s kingdom, where everyone is self-centered. We are saved from the kingdom of self to be in God’s Kingdom of love.

What should we do if we know we do not love?

What should we do if we know we do not love? The answer is not to try harder and work up the love from within us. Neither are we to just passively hope that somehow God will be merciful and we would be saved “by the skin of our teeth” as someone put it. If we know we do not have love, the solution is to go to God, surrender ourselves to Him and ask Him to fill us with His love. The apostle John told us love comes from God (1 Jn.4:7). Please read that again : love comes from God.

John also said, “We love because He first loved us” (1 Jn.5:19). When we are one with God, His love will be in us, and we will live out of that love relationship with Him. We will discover that salvation by grace is not only at the point of first trusting Jesus for salvation but includes God fulfilling His own law/requirements by living in us and through us. When His Spirit and His love floods our hearts, we will experience rivers of living water flowing out of us (Jn.7:38). We will not be able to contain that love. And we will know that it is truly the grace of God that enables us to love beyond ourselves. Especially when we love our enemies .. or just horrible neighbours/people that we would rather not love! I would also urge you to read the account of Joe Ozawa’s dream here : 

https://acts1322issachar.wordpress.com/2009/09/26/did-you-learn-to-receive-my-love/

Knowing God by experience, not by doctrine

Unfortunately, many Christians are still operating under the law and their understanding of salvation is only a “doctrinal” understanding. There are however Christians I have met in far-off remote places who are not well educated, or are even uneducated, but they know (ginosko) God and they are brimming with love for people. They did not try to understand salvation by trying to figure it out doctrinally. They simply gave their hearts to God and became one with Him and now they know (ginosko) God. They didn’t get messed up in their minds with academic arguments that people in seminaries get into, much of which seems to me are about excusing and justifying themselves.

My hope and prayer is that what I have shared here does not serve to just correct our understanding of Jn.3:16, but that it would stir us up to draw close to God to know His heart and His love. Because that is what we were made for. I believe that God is waiting for us to know His love and go and love people around us, especially those in need, like the first church did (Acts 2:42-47, Acts 4:32-35, Gal.2:9-10). That is the Kingdom community that the world is waiting to see. That is when the world will see the salvation of God (Lk.3:4-14 especially verse 6). That is what Jesus came to die for – to get a Bride that is like Him. Like Him, we would lay down our lives for others. We would die to self, give up our independence, return to being one with God, and be one with each other (Jn.17:20-23, Jn.13:34-35). That, my brothers and sisters, is what I believe Jn.3:16 is really about – a restoration back to God’s original design.

Kingdom 12 & 13 Video

https://bit.ly/36QCX6P

If you would like to participate in the zoom sessions, please email me : acts1322@gmail.com

Kingdom 11 videos : What does it mean for the Church?

What do Christians and Churches think about the Kingdom of God? Most Christians think it is either an invisible thing inside the hearts of believers, or it is “somewhere up there” (the kingdom of heaven), or it is the church, or it is something that is only in the future when Jesus returns. So to most Christians the Kingdom is invisible, or after you die, or it is the church, or it is only in the future. Nothing to do with the world. And not for here and now.

But God wants His Kingdom rule to be restored on earth, not just for the future but for here and now. Whether Christians realize it or not, that’s what they have been praying for : “Let Your Kingdom come, let Your will be done on earth as in heaven.” The Kingdom of God is of course not the church. Because otherwise it would not make sense for us to pray “Let Your Kingdom come” when we mean “let the church come”. Where is it to come from? And how is it to come? And how can the church pray for itself to come?

What would the coming and restoration of God’s Kingdom on earth mean for the Church? Here are six short videos where I talk about this :

Kingdom 11A : https://tinyurl.com/ppfbswfu

Kingdom 11B : https://tinyurl.com/sshhybad

Kingdom 11C : https://tinyurl.com/k9fvw9ry

Kingdom 11D : https://tinyurl.com/4z84k4ps

Kingdom 11E : https://tinyurl.com/7cmpckrn

Kingdom 11F : https://tinyurl.com/2hfkrj9h

Kingdom 10 videos : What does it mean for the world?

Paul said that everything was made by Him and for Him, and He wants everything back under His rule (Col.1:16-20). What would it be if everything were back under His rule? What would agriculture, industry, education, art, science, business, etc. be if they were carried out God’s way?

Here are three short videos where I talk about what the coming and restoration of God’s Kingdom on earth would mean for the world. I’m talking about here and now. Not what it would be when Jesus returns.

Kingdom 10A : https://tinyurl.com/3dhxctny

Kingdom 10B : https://tinyurl.com/xxv224mu

Kingdom 10C : https://tinyurl.com/8ttjauj3

Your Kingdom Come Series videos and new book

I have just uploaded to YouTube the first batch of short videos where I teach on the Kingdom of God. Here’s the short url link for the playlist : https://bit.ly/37V7qhY

I have also written and published a new book entitled ‘Your Kingdom Come’. Here’s the Amazon/Kindle link : https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08R8Y3PR3

Unfortunately, for many countries, the cost of shipping for the paperback might be more than the cost of the book. A very much less expensive option would be to download and install for free the Kindle app into your computer or smartphone, and then purchase the Kindle e-book. Kindle may not be available in some countries, but I am informed that you might still be able to gain access to Kindle by registering an address on Kindle of a country where Kindle is available, like the US, or India.

For those who have been following the things I write, do watch the videos and read the book and let me know your thoughts. You can comment below, or comment in YouTube, or write a review of the book on Amazon/Kindle, or email me : acts1322@gmail.com

Would love to hear from you!

And please pray with me that the Lord would be pleased to use these videos and the book to speak to many for the advance of His Kingdom.

What is the Worldview of Republican Evangelicals as to God’s Kingdom?

If they voted for Trump because they are anti-abortion, I can understand. But if they voted for Trump because they believe it would “build” or advance God’s Kingdom, I have some questions for them. What did the Jews expect their Messiah to do to overthrow the Roman Empire and set up his kingdom? Why didn’t Jesus do what they expected? What did Jesus say about how His Kingdom would come? How did the early Christians eventually conquer Rome? Was it through politics?

This point should have been obvious from the earlier article I wrote “Why I believe the Republican evangelicals have got it wrong with Trump”. But apparently it hasn’t. I am not sure if any Republican evangelicals will read this, or that it will make any difference to them, but I am writing not only for them. I am writing to everyone of us who are deeply concerned about the truth of God’s Kingdom. The case of Trump and his Republican evangelical supporters provides us with a good talking point about what the Kingdom of God is really. What did Jesus mean when He said His kingdom is not of this world? He also said we are not of this world, just as He is not of this world, but at the same time He said He is sending us into the world. What did Jesus expect His disciples to do after He left them?

PS. _{^{By the way, did you watch the Phil Vischer and Skye Jethani abortion video I shared? Please watch it if you haven’t : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvWD7ykNjCc&t=82s. It presents facts and statistics that will tell you why voting Trump will not make any difference to this issue. By the way, for the last four years Trump has been President, the Senate has been in the control of the Republicans. Why haven’t they passed any legislation to change the law on abortions?}}

Is God for Trump or for Biden?

This is the question I get often. Who do you think God is for – Trump or Biden?

My answer is neither Trump or Biden. Instead, the question needs to be turned around – who is Trump for? Similarly, who is Biden for? Who are you for?

When Joshua was leading Israel to take Jericho, he asked a similar question. Look at the reply he received from God :

“Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” The commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.” (Jos.5:13-15)

I’m not sure if Joshua had a Jewish term for it in those days, but if he were asked today, he would say what he needed, and what he went through, was a paradigm shift. Not if God was for him, backing him, helping him and Israel conquer their enemies, and answering their prayers, but if he was following God. Even though Joshua’s desire and intent was to serve God and do His will.

This is what we need in order to work with God in His Kingdom advance. The question must never be if God is for us, but rather, are we working with Him in His plans? Jesus said, “The Son can do nothing of his own except what he sees the Father doing, for what the Father does, the Son does also.” (Jn.5:19). If Jesus said that about himself, how much more do we need to do that!

I said the same thing about prayer. We need a paradigm shift in how we understand and approach prayer. Not whether God will do our bidding and our will, but are we aligning ourselves to His plans and His will? You can read it here : https://acts1322issachar.wordpress.com/2019/02/18/why-do-we-need-to-pray/

In short, God is our Commander. Not our servant. In other words, please don’t try to get Him to fit into your politics, or your plans, even if your intent is to do His will. See what Jesus replied to someone who was trying to get Jesus to arbitrate between him and his brother : Lk.12:13-14. And see what Jesus replied Pilate : Jn.18:36

He is our Commander and He is already at the gates, waiting to come in. The question is whether His troops are ready :

“The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters. Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. He will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God his Savior. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob. Selah

Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is he, this King of glory?  The LORD Almighty–he is the King of glory. Selah”

Are they hearing His voice, or are they still asleep? Or distracted .. trying very hard to do God’s will?

Why I believe the Republican evangelicals have got it wrong with Trump

Before I begin, let me first say that being anti-Trump does not mean I am pro-Democrat.

I can list several reasons why the Republican evangelicals who support Trump are terribly mistaken, but I will focus on only two and I will keep it brief and simple.

1. How matters. Not just what.

From the Word of God, we know that the end never justifies the means. In other words, it is not enough to do what is right. And not enough that the right goal is achieved. How you do it and how it is achieved, matters to God. If it matters to God, it should matter to us. Two examples of this in the Bible should suffice : Abraham and Ishmael, and how Jesus was crowned King.

The latter, how Jesus was crowned King is directly on point. Jesus resisted the short-cut offered by Satan to dominion : “The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours.”  Jesus answered, “It is written: `Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’ ” (Lk.4:5-8). Jesus knew He was destined to be King over this world. But it has to come through God’s way. Not the ways of this world. He said, “My Kingdom is not of this world. If it were My servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jews. But now My Kingdom is from another realm.” (Jn.18:36). In other words, not through this world’s politics. How was He crowned King? By doing the very opposite. Not fighting for power but laying down His life. Please read Philip. 2:5-11.

Satan failed with Jesus, but apparently he has succeeded with the Republican evangelicals. Through Trump he offered them two things they could not resist. They want to get back control from the liberals. Some talk about taking dominion and building God’s Kingdom. But most important of all, they want dominion on the issues of abortion and LGBTQ. Trump came along and gave them exactly what they wanted. If not for their support, he would not have been nominated. They know that. Now he has total control over them. They worship him. He can do no wrong. He said he can walk down the streets of NY and shoot someone and yet he will not lose their support. Despite saying that, they continue to support him. Shocking. Is that not idolatry? Even when he lied to them about the virus but secretly revealed its dangers only to his investors. He puts them at risk, the very people supporting him, at those rallies, but they still defend him! Unbelievable. Is that not idolatry? And they listen to Trump on the virus rather than scientists and experts. Is that not blind idolatry?

Is abortion and LGBTQ important to God? Of course. Can Satan use exactly what God wants, to entrap us? Absolutely. When Satan tried it with Jesus, that wasn’t his first time doing that. How did Satan deceive Adam and Eve? With the very thing that God wanted for them! Please stop and think about that. Satan told Adam and Eve that they will become like God if they ate that fruit (Gen.3:4). They fell for it. Did God want them to be like Him? Of course. God made us to become like Him : “Let us make man in our image and in our likeness and let him have dominion.” (Gen.1:26). Paul told us that is God’s end goal for us, that we become like Christ who is the very image of the Father : For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son..” (Rom.8:29). So why was Adam and Eve wrong for wanting to become like God? Because although that was God’s goal for them, that was not God’s way for them to achieve it. They were not to achieve it on their own, independently of God. How matters. Not just what.

Fighting against abortion and LGBTQ is not enough. It must be done God’s way. Not through dominating others. It can’t be achieved through domination anyway. Please watch this very well presented video by Phil Vischer and Skye Jethani : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvWD7ykNjCc&t=82s . Until people watch this video to get the facts right and understand the issues clearly, they probably have no idea how much they have been barking up the wrong tree.

Let me say something about the Kingdom of God. This subject burns in my heart. Satan is trying to get us off-track with the Kingdom of God by coming up with an alternative and counterfeit “Kingdom”. Please don’t fall for it. God’s ways are upside down to the ways of this world. The Kingdom of God comes through dying to self. Not through dominating others. Like Jesus. He defeated the devil by His death (Heb.2:14). We are called to do the same (Jn.12:24-25, Heb.2:15 and Rev.12:10-11). It is Lucifer who wants to be on the top of God’s mountain. To follow Jesus is to go the opposite direction. Down. Not up. I’m sorry but Lance Wallnau is wrong. I wrote about this in two articles : How Jesus defeated Satan. It gives us the key to how the Kingdom of God will come. https://acts1322issachar.wordpress.com/2009/09/26/gods-army-people-of-a-different-spirit-moving-in-the-opposite-spirit-how-jesus-defeated-satan https://acts1322issachar.wordpress.com/2015/07/06/the-problem-with-the-seven-mountainsspheres-teaching/

Timothy Dalrymple got it spot on. He said the reason why evangelicals are divided on Trump is because of what they think and believe about the Kingdom of God. Two fundamentally different visions of the Kingdom : https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2020/november-web-only/trump-election-politics-church-kingdom.html?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=article

Christendom is NOT the Kingdom of God. Jesus did not come to start a new religion called Christianity. Nor did He come to establish something called “church”. It’s not “Let the Church come”. Or “let the Church be established.” It’s “Let Your Kingdom come.” Not once did Jesus tell His disciples to set up and establish something called “Church”. All our ideas and practice of “Church” did not come from Jesus or Paul. They originated from Constantine. I have written on what church is here : https://acts1322issachar.wordpress.com/2019/12/31/what-is-church/

2. Who you choose to be your leader reflects on you

The Taliban are also against abortion and LGBTQ. But you wouldn’t vote them, would you? Hitler apparently was also against abortion and homosexuality. Someone wrote that that was what he gave the Christians for their support https://wonderingeagle.wordpress.com/2020/10/25/john-piper-condemns-evangelical-support-of-trumpism-as-idolatry/comment-page-1/#comment-15110 The point is, it matters who you choose to represent you. When you choose someone to represent you, you are making a statement that that person, more or less embodies and represents your beliefs and values. Whether fairly or unfairly, he becomes a reflection of who you are.

If at any point he no longer represents your beliefs and values because of what he says or the way he behaves, you have to speak up, or even replace him. If you don’t, you are indirectly, though unintentionally, endorsing what he says, and the way he behaves, his values, etc. So when you keep silent, and keep empowering him, even though he keeps lying (fact-checked more than 20,000 lies so far), and even though he keeps sowing hatred and division, and advancing white supremacy, the world identifies you with Trump. Whether you like it or not, he personifies you.

You may gain the upper-hand politically, but at what cost? You have dominion. You have “gained the world, but lost your soul”. No matter how you try to explain and justify it, all your politically correct reasons, including Biblical reasons, and logic, cannot overcome what an unbeliever thinks of you for having supported and empowered a crazy, narcissistic, and obnoxious bigot who has encouraged white supremacy, divided the country, and caused the unnecessary Covid-19 deaths of more than 200,000 people. You are sure you are right, but they cannot see Jesus. They can only see a Pharisee. Try talking to someone who has lost his/her parent or loved one to Covid-19 because he/she believed Trump.

I prayed and asked the Lord what He has to say about Trump. This is what I heard Him say to me : “I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber .. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.” (Jn.10:1, 9). Trump has not entered the sheep pen through Jesus the gate, but he has climbed in by some other way, and now he commands the following of millions of sheep. You may say that’s subjective. You are right. You don’t have to agree with me. But can you do one thing? Please ask the Lord if this word I just gave you is true.

Jesus warned us that there will come false christs (Matt.24:24). The Greek word is “christos” which means “anointed one”. Not all but many Republican evangelicals believe Trump is God’s anointed one. I’m sorry but that’s a deception. He is so obviously and blatantly the anti-thesis of who Jesus is. He is not God’s savior or instrument to save American Christianity and the American church. American Christianity and American church does not need saving anyway. It needs to get out of the way for the Kingdom of God to come.

Please hear and heed the voice of the Shepherd. “The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” (Jn.10:2-5)

What is the root of the problem? It is a cultural problem. It is what American culture has become. How do you change that? Through changing the law? Of course not. You know it. You have to get to the root of the problem. A change of worldview and beliefs is needed. How does that come about? Through discipleship. Through discipling by our lives. Salt and light. That’s what Jesus has called us to. He never called us to oppose abortion and gays. He never called us to be Pharisees.

Covid-19 .. The Dismantling has Begun

As I write this article today, 27 April 2020 :

1. There are nearly 3 million cases worldwide. More than 200,000 people have died.
2. There seems to be no immunity to this virus. Many who have recovered have fallen seriously ill again. So what about the arguments for herd immunity? Debunked or lost its veracity.
3. Lockdowns are resulting in millions of businesses collapsing and hundreds of millions being unemployed.
4. Daily wage workers are already in peril. The average daily wage worker has no savings beyond 3 or 4 days. In India alone, a Business Times report estimated 308.8 million daily wage workers and such, are already in starvation.
5. For a vaccine to be available to all the world, experts are saying, at the very earliest, it would take at least another 12 – 18 months. But would it work if the virus keeps mutating? Reports are coming in that the virus has currently already mutated to at least 30 different strains.
6. Can the world continue to have extended or repeated lockdowns? What will happen when hundreds of millions or billions are completely out of savings and out of food?

The world will never be the same again.

So what are we to make of this?

I believe God has started dismantling everything in order to restore the world back to His Kingdom rule : “The kingdoms of this world have become the Kingdom of the Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever” (Rev.11:15).

The Bible talks about three kingdoms : God’s Kingdom, Satan’s kingdom, and the kingdoms of this world or man’s kingdom. But this world began with only one kingdom – God’s Kingdom. Something happened in the garden of Eden that changed that. From one kingdom on earth it became three kingdoms on earth. What did Jesus come to do? Jesus came to restore it back to one kingdom – God’s Kingdom (Zech.14:9). This is the good news of the Kingdom – the restoration of God’s Kingdom on earth, which is expressed in the prayer, “Let Your Kingdom come. Let Your will be done on earth as it is done in heaven.” (Matt.6:10). Jesus told us it began when He came (Jn.12:31) and it will be completed when He comes again (Acts.3:21)

Where are we now in God’s agenda to restore His Kingdom on earth? Jesus said just before He returns to complete the restoration, things will get really intense. Jesus called it “the beginning of birth pains” (Matt.24:8). Below is a graph showing the increase of natural disasters from 1900 to 2011 sourced from the International disasters database. With the current pandemic, we are surely in the final push before the baby is born.

In April 1999, God showed me what will happen in a dream. You can read it here : Costly but not Precious. Then in 2015,the Lord put it on my heart to write this : Tough Times are Coming – Choose Wisely.

Why does God have to dismantle everything? Why does the world have to end in disasters? In short, it is because of the hardness of human hearts. It is simply what CS Lewis talked about but on a global scale. Disasters are God’s megaphone to rouse a deaf church and a deaf world.

Before He returns, God will use disasters to push man up against the wall to confront him with the question, “Am I God or am I not?” People are given an opportunity to decide whether they will surrender their kingdoms or remain defiant. When He returns it will be too late. He will destroy all those who did not want Him to be King over them (Lk.19:27). So His judgments are both His wrath as well as His mercy. Wrath and destruction for those who continue to harden their hearts against Him. Mercy for those who need a disaster to wake them up to surrender to Him. You can read more about this in : Why God Allows Disasters.

Step back for a moment and consider this. Everything has a design, whether it’s your mobile phone, your washing machine, or your body, or your marriage. When something has gone wrong, when it has deviated from its original design, when it is no longer functioning according to its original design, it needs to be restored back to its original design. A “factory reset” is needed.

This world also had an original design. But no one seems to be asking what was this world’s original design. Not even the Christians. Why?

God designed this world for man to be under His rule. To be one with Him and one with each other. But this world rejected God as its rightful King and set up their own kingdoms. And what a mess we have made of this world! We are alienated from God and alienated from each other. Not only that, man gave Satan authority to rule over him, and made Satan the ruler of this world (Rom.6:16, Lk.4:5-6).

What has God done about that? Jesus said He came to drive Satan out and take back what the devil has stolen and that process began when He came (Jn.10:10, Jn.12:31). He said the Kingdom of God is like yeast put into dough that will gradually work itself through the whole dough (Matt.13:33). Since that time, the Kingdom of God has been forcefully advancing on earth (Matt.11:12). After He died and rose from the dead, He declared that all authority in heaven and on earth had been given to Him (Matt.28:18). So Jesus is actually our rightful King (Matt.28:18) but this world has yet to acknowledge Him as its King. Nevertheless God has already said that He will restore His Kingdom on earth. In fact this world has only one future – the restoration and re-establishment of His Kingdom on earth (Rev.11:15).

How is God going to do that? He will do a “factory reset” in order for us to get back to His original design. Back to Life 1.0, not Life 2.0 that man figured out and established without God. That’s what He has begun to do. Since this world is upside down to God’s Kingdom, in order to restore His Kingdom on earth, God will turn everything upside down so as to turn everything back upright. He told Jeremiah He would uproot, tear down, destroy and overthrow, before He can build and plant something new (Jer.1:10). The apostle Paul said He will do that until all dominion, power and authority will be destroyed and everything will be brought back under His Lordship (1 Cor.15:24-25) – just as it was revealed to Daniel and the apostle John – until all the kingdoms of this world have been vanquished and only the Kingdom of God will remain (Dan.2:35, 44-45, Rev.11:15). God will shake everything that can be shaken until only His unshakable Kingdom will remain (Heb.12:26-28).

Isaiah said that when God’s judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness. But not all will. Though grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness; even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil and regard not the majesty of the LORD (Isa.26:9-10). It is tragic when God’s hand is lifted high, but they do not see it (Isa.26:11).

The world is asleep and has yet to wake up to what this Covid-19 pandemic means. But it is not just the world. Even the church is fast asleep and yet to wake up to this. In Matt.25, in the parable of the ten virgins, Jesus said all ten of the virgins, including the five wise virgins, fell asleep. God’s hand is lifted high but they are not seeing it. They are more concerned about how to do church services online and how to make sure their members don’t miss services. Jesus said, “You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.” (Matt.16:3)

What time is it now? I believe it is Ps.24 time. The Lord strong and mighty in battle is already waiting at the gates to come back in but His troops are not ready yet. They have yet to forsake all their idols, come before Him with clean hands and a pure heart and seek His face like how Jacob did. Please read the whole of Ps.24.

It is also the time of Matt.24 and 25. Notice that Jesus gave these three parables in Matt.25 after He spoke about the end time disasters in Matt.24 :

1. The parable of the ten virgins
2. The parable of the talents
3. The parable of the sheep and goats

In other words now is the time to wake up to the Kingdom of God and His Kingdom agenda for this world. And now is the time to use what God has given us to advance His kingdom on earth. And now is the time where we are tested to see whether we shall be sheep or goats.

And now is the time where :

1. The fire will refine His people (Dan.11:33-35, Mal.3:2-4)
2. The true children of God will be revealed (Rom.8:19-21)
3. His people will produce the fruit of the Kingdom (Matt.21:43)
4. They will show the love and justice of the Kingdom and all mankind will see the salvation of the Lord (Lk.3:4-14)
5. The Bride will be prepared to meet the Bridegroom (Eph.5:25-27, Rev.19:6-9, Rev.21:2)

“The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it belongs to Him.” (Ps.24:1)

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me” (Matt.28:18)

“Your Kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as in heaven.” (Matt.6:10)

“He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” (Rev.22:20)

What is Church?

The word “church” in the Bible is the English translation of the Greek word “ekklesia”. But the Greek word “ekklesia” is a translation of the Hebrew word “qahal” in the Old Testament. So if we read the Septuagint, the Greek Old Testament, we will find “ekklesia” in the Old Testament. In other words, the church is already in the Old Testament.

The church is God’s Kingdom community on earth

What is the “qahal” or the “ekklesia” in the Old Testament? The word was used to refer to the community or assembly or congregation of the people of Israel who were called out of Egypt to be God’s own people. For example :

“May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community (לִקְהַ֣ל qahal) of peoples.” (Gen.28:3)

Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there he blessed me and said to me, `I am going to make you fruitful and will increase your numbers. I will make you a community (לִקְהַ֣ל qahal) of peoples, and I will give this land as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you.’ (Gen.48:4)

 When Jesus used the word “ekklesia” in Matt.16:18 and Matt.18:18, no one asked Him what He meant or what He was referring to, and neither did He explain what He meant by “ekklesia”. They didn’t need to ask, and He didn’t need to explain. They knew the Old Testament and they knew He was talking about the people of Israel – those whom God had brought out of Egypt to be His Kingdom community :

“Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, “This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: ⁴ `You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.” (Ex.19:3-6)

Later, Peter describes the church in the same way. Just as the Jews were called out of Egypt, out of a place of spiritual darkness, we are also called out of darkness to be His own people :

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (1 Pet.2:9-10).

Paul also described us as having been brought out of darkness to become His own people :

“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves” (Col.1:13)

So the church, the ekklesia, or the qahal, is not a new concept that Jesus introduced. When He talked about the church, or the ekklesia, or the qahal, He was referring to the people whom God had called to be His own people, to be under His rule, or to be in His kingdom.

Whether in the Old Testament or in the New Testament, the church, or ekklesia, or qahal, are people. Not a temple, or a building, or a meeting in a building, or an institution, or a corporation. The church is the community of the King, or God’s Kingdom community on earth.

The church gets its meaning and purpose from the Kingdom

From the above paragraph, we can see that the meaning and purpose of “church” is derived from the Kingdom of God. Apart from the Kingdom, the church has no meaning or purpose. Or to put it another way, the church exists to serve the Kingdom, or the church exists only because of the Kingdom. The apostle Paul told us that we are ambassadors of Christ (2 Cor.5:20). As ambassadors, we represent Christ our King to the world. Just as an ambassador and his embassy (I mean the people, not the building) get their meaning and purpose from the nation that they represent, in the same way the church, the people of God, get their meaning and purpose from the Kingdom of God. Apart from the nation they represent, an ambassador and his embassy have no meaning or purpose. For example, when East Germany ceased to exist after it was reunited with West Germany in 1990, the embassies of East Germany, all over Europe and Russia immediately closed down.

In other words, we the church, must therefore exist and function only to represent the Kingdom of God. We cannot fashion “church” to be anything we like. If we do, we would have created an idol in our own image, or likeness. Not in the image and likeness of God. So many churches today are not even aware of the Kingdom, or who think they are the kingdom! Imagine an ambassador and his embassy who have forgotten about the nation they represent.

Let Your Kingdom come

Since the church is the community of the King, or God’s Kingdom community on earth, and therefore agents of the Kingdom, then we can understand the purpose of the church, only if we first understand God’s Kingdom. I have written about the Kingdom in two books and one manual. In this article, to keep it brief, I will share only some main points about the Kingdom.

The first thing we must understand about the Kingdom is that this world began with one kingdom – God’s Kingdom. Later, because of what happened in the garden of Eden, from one kingdom on earth, it became three kingdoms on earth – God’s Kingdom, Satan’s kingdom and the kingdoms of this world or man’s kingdom. What did Jesus come to do? He came to restore it back to one kingdom – God’s Kingdom. See Jn.12:31, Matt.6:10, Col.1:13, 1 Cor.15:24-25, Dan.2:24-25, 44-45, Acts 3:21, etc. Note that the restoration began when Jesus came. Read those verses again carefully, especially Jn. 12:31 where Jesus said “Now” twice. See also Lk.16:16, Matt.21:31.

This in fact is the good news of the Kingdom that Jesus and His disciples preached – the restoration of God’s Kingdom on earth, which was prophesied in the Old Testament. See Isa.40:1-3, 9, Isa.52:7-10, Isa.59:16-18, Ezek.39:21-29, Am.9:11, 14-15, Mic.4:10, Mic.5:2, 6, Zec.2:10, Zec.9:9-10. Jesus did not call it the good news of personal salvation. Nor did He call it the good news of salvation from hell to heaven. When He and the disciples preached the good news of the Kingdom, there was no mention at all of hell or heaven. Some Bible teachers are telling us the good news changed after Jesus was crucified and resurrected, but that is not true. Jesus said that this good news of the Kingdom is to be preached until the very end before He returns – see Matt.24:14. That means it has never changed and it is the same good news of the Kingdom that we must preach to the very end.

Jesus said He has been given all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt.28:18). This corresponds with what He said He came to do – to defeat the devil and destroy all his work (1 Jn.3:8), and drive the devil out (Jn.12:31) and reconcile all things that were created by Him, through Him and for Him, and bring them all back under His Lordship (Col.1:15-20). All things means family, education, art, science, technology, business, industry, law, government, environment, sports, entertainment, etc.. Not just souls.

Contrary to what some Bible teachers are suggesting, God has never changed His mind. The earth and everything in it belongs to God (Ps.24:1). I cannot find anything in the Bible which tells me that God has changed His mind about that, or that He has given it up to the devil.  What I find is that the devil has through deception stolen what belongs to God (Jn.10:10), but God wants it back. That’s why Jesus told us to pray, “Let Your Kingdom come, let Your will be done on earth as in heaven” which clearly means God wants His Kingdom not only in heaven but also on earth. When we study our Bible carefully we will discover that salvation is not about escape but restoration.

The restoration is already underway

In Acts 3:21 and Rev.11:15, we read that one day all the kingdoms of this world will be surrendered and only God’s Kingdom will rule on earth. Many Christians already know that, but most Christians think that is something that will happen only in the future and it will happen suddenly when Jesus returns. What they don’t realize is that the restoration of God’s Kingdom on earth already started when Jesus first came and God has been in the process of taking back what belongs to Him (Jn.12:31, Col.1:13, 1 Cor.15:24-25, Dan.3:34-35, 44-45). What that means, is that we need to make use of whatever gifts God has entrusted us to work with God for the restoration of His Kingdom on earth (Lk.19:11-27). Not just grow bigger “churches” or plant and multiply more “churches”. I will address this wrong concept of planting and growing churches later in this article.

Every aspect of life is to be restored

We know this world is broken. It is broken because it has deviated from its original design. So our task or mission is to work with God for all aspects of life that are broken (family, education, art, science, technology, business, industry, law, government, environment, etc.) to be restored to their original design and brought back under the rule or government of God. That is the fullness of life that Jesus came to restore (Jn.10:10). Jesus said “all” (Matt.28:18). Paul also said “all” and “everything” (Col.1:15-20). Peter also said “everything” (Acts 3:21). If every aspect of life needs to be restored to their original design and come back under His Lordship, then that means everyone : farmers, agriculturists, industrialists, businessmen, teachers, artists, scientists, accountants, administrators, politicians, lawyers, doctors, engineers, etc. has a role in the restoration of God’s Kingdom on earth. Not just those in “full-time” ministry.

The mission and purpose of the church in the world

Whenever we pray “Let Your Kingdom come, let Your will be done on earth as in heaven” what we are actually doing is proclaiming our surrender to Jesus as King not only over our personal lives, but over this world. When Jesus told us to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt.6:33), it was primarily about seeking God’s will for this world because Jesus was talking about His Kingdom on earth (Matt.6:10). He was not talking about seeking God’s will for our personal lives. Once again please note that the good news is the Kingdom, and the Kingdom is the good news (read Lk.9:2 and 6 carefully). Although the good news of the Kingdom certainly involves the personal salvation of individuals, we must however note that Jesus did not preach the gospel of personal salvation from hell to heaven. We have no right to re-write the Bible and reduce the good news of the Kingdom to something that is concerned only about the personal life of an individual or what happens to people after they die. Yes the eternal future of people is of course important, but those are consequences of the salvation. Not the subject of the salvation. The salvation is not from hell to heaven. The salvation is from Satan’s kingdom to God’s Kingdom (Col.1:13).

God wants His Kingdom to rule on earth. Paul also spoke of the obedience of all nations to God, not just the obedience of individuals (Rom.16:26). Jesus said God did not send Him into the world to condemn the world but that the world might be saved through Him (Jn.3:17). Paul said God is reconciling the world to Himself in Christ (2 Cor.5:19). In both Jn.3:17 and 2 Cor.5:19, in the original Greek text, the “world” is “kosmos” which is the world as we know it, not just the people of the world. So God is interested not only for individuals but also for this world to be transformed. The mission and purpose of the church in the world is therefore to work with God for the restoration of His Kingdom on earth. Not just save souls for heaven or grow the church to make it bigger.

Disciple nations – the transformation of cultures to God’s Kingdom culture

What this means is that Christians and churches need to have a total overhaul in their basic understanding of the gospel or the good news and therefore their understanding of the Kingdom and church. When we understand what the good news of the Kingdom actually means, and what church actually means, then our understanding of the purpose or mission of the church will also change. If the earth and everything in it belongs to God and God wants His Kingdom restored on earth (Matt.6:10), and Jesus has been given all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt.28:18), meaning God has appointed Him to be the rightful King over all the earth, and Jesus came to bring everything under His Lordship (Col.1:15-20), then discipling nations cannot be confined to just the “spiritual” growth of individuals, or just church growth, but the transformation of nations and cultures back to God’s Kingdom culture, so that all of life on earth would be brought under His rule – back to one Kingdom – God’s Kingdom. This is confirmed by Jesus in Matt.21:43

The mission God entrusted to Israel has been passed to us

In Matt.21, Jesus entered the temple courts in Jerusalem and told the chief priests and elders, the parable of the two sons (verses 28-32) and the parable of the tenants (verses 33-42), and then He said to them, “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.” (Matt.21:43). Basically Jesus told the Jewish leaders that they had failed in the mission that God entrusted to them, and they were “fired” and the job would be given to another people who will do it.

In Jn.15:16, Jesus said to His disciples, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit–fruit that will remain.” So we who are now the ekklesia are the people whom God has passed the role and mission that was originally entrusted to Israel, the ekklesia or qahal of the Old Testament. In Matt.21:43, Jesus said they will produce the fruit of the kingdom. What is that fruit? In other words, what did God expect of Israel which they failed, which is now expected of the church?

When I searched in the Old Testament to see what God chose Israel to do, this is what I found.  Israel was chosen :

• To be a channel of blessing to the rest of the world (Gen.12:2-3)
• To be priests to stand between God and the other peoples/nations of the earth (19:5-6, Deut.10:8)
• To be an example of a nation under God’s rule so that other peoples and nations would be drawn to God and come under His rule also (67 :1-7)
• To bring about justice among the nations ( 42:1,4, Isa. 51:4)
• To be a light to the nations, to open the eyes of the blind and free captives from prison (42: 6-7)
• To be witnesses .. to testify of Who God is to the other nations (43:9-12)
• To declare the praises of the Lord (43: 20-21)
• To reflect God’s glory to the nations so that they may be saved (49:3, 6)
• To attract nations to the Lord (55:1-5)
• To be a house of prayer for all peoples ( 56:6)

According to what Jesus said in Matt.21:43, all the above is now the mission and task that God has given to us to fulfill. Basically what Israel was chosen to do was to be God’s Kingdom community on earth so as to model and reflect to surrounding nations what it would be like to worship God and be in His Kingdom, so that when other nations see what a wonderful thing it is to be in God’s Kingdom, they would be drawn back to God. This is now our task and our mission. That’s why we are called the ambassadors of Christ who have been given the ministry of reconciliation. No different from what Israel was tasked to do. God’s purpose has not changed. The only thing that changed is, instead of using one nation of people of one ethnic origin in one geographical location to represent Him and model to all the peoples of the earth what it means to be under God’s rule, God wants to do that through many communities of His people scattered in various parts of the earth.

How can God’s Kingdom mandate be carried out?

In Matt.28:19, Jesus told His disciples to go and disciple nations. When we read Matt.28:18 and Matt.21:43 together, to disciple nations therefore means to do all that God expected of Israel.

Now look again at the list above. Can all that be carried out and fulfilled by the church if “church” is just Sunday services or meetings in a building?

Let me elaborate a little further on what I believe is God’s end goal for us, the church. I want to keep this article as brief as possible, so I will just mention very briefly here, without any explanation, some things I have explained in my book and in other articles :

1. We were created in the image and likeness of God (Gen.1:26). God’s end goal for us is that we become like Christ, who is the very image and likeness of God (Rom.8:29). So God has only one agenda – that we become like Him.
2. The purpose of Jn.3:16 is to bring us back to Gen.1:26
3. To glorify God basically means to reflect His character.
4. From the six days of creation we can see some of the attributes and character of God like creativity, community, love, work, delight in work, vision, planning, order, structure, step by step progression, and development.
5. We glorify God by reflecting His character to the world when we live out the fruit of the Spirit and all these other aspects of His character.
6. To work with God for the advance of His Kingdom on earth means to work with Him for the restoration of all things, all aspects of life, back to their original design.

When we consider all the above, can Sunday services or meetings in a building reflect these aspects of God’s glory or character or culture? Can Sunday services or meetings in a building disciple nations in the areas of family, education, art, science, technology, business, industry, law, government, environment, etc. with creativity, community, love, work, delight in work, vision, planning, order, structure, step by step progression, and development? Can the world see how each of these things are to be carried out or practiced according to God’s original design if we are just a meeting in a building? Can the world even see community if we are just meetings? The answer to these questions is obviously NO! In other words we need to have a complete overhaul of our understanding of what church means and how we are to function.

The Church in the Acts of the Apostles was community

How did the early Christians understand “church”? In Acts 2 and Acts 4, “church” for the early Christians was community. They looked after the widows and orphans and other poor people around them. They loved one another and shared everything :

All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. (Acts 2:44-45)

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. ³³ With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. ³⁴ There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales ³⁵ and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need. (Acts.4:32-35)

Jesus told them, “A new commandment I give to you. Love one another as I have loved you. By this shall all men know that you are My disciples.” (Jn.13:34-35). That’s what they did. They loved. They also met in homes to worship and pray together. And Jesus told them to go and disciple nations and in order to do that they needed the power of the Holy Spirit. And so that’s what they did. They preached the Kingdom and they healed, and they cast out demons. They basically continued to do what they did when they were with Jesus. Nothing different.  Whenever they met, it was in their homes. There were no church services, no church programs, no clergy/laity, salaried pastors, church building, congregation, membership, tithing, denominations, ecclesiastical hierarchy, pulpit, pews, church committees, AGM and elections. There’s nothing in the Bible for all of that. All that God expected of Israel, which He is now expecting of us, can only be carried out and fulfilled if we are in community with each other and with the people around us.

Who gave us the current idea of “church”?

So where did church services, church programs, clergy/laity, salaried pastors, church buildings, congregation, membership, etc. come from? The current understanding and practice of church did not come from Jesus, or Paul, or any of the apostles, or the early church. It came from Constantine. After he became emperor of Europe in AD 312, history tell us that he became a “Christian”. In order to solidify his political power, as part of his strategy, he institutionalized the church and he commissioned the building of huge cathedrals that he called “church”. Then he compelled the masses (that’s where the word “mass” for Sunday service came from) to attend “church” services. Those cathedrals still stand today but they are now being used as museums, libraries, mosques, Hindu temples, Masonic temples, nightclubs, bars, etc. Where did he get this idea of “church” from? He got it from the pagan temples where he used to worship at.

The church in the West inherited that idea of “church” from their history and brought it to the rest of the world. But why are we still following that idea of “church”? Especially for those of us who are in Asia or the Middle East of Africa, who are not part of European history. Why are we following something that is not part of our history? The institutional church in Europe has died. The institutional church in the US is dying. What will become of the institutional church in Asia and the Middle East and Africa? Why are we still following Constantine? Why don’t we follow Jesus?

What about church planting and church growth?

Another thing we inherited from the West, from America to be exact, is the idea of church planting and church growth. In the 1970s, when I surrendered my life to Christ and “joined” a church, there was only one word to describe the mission of the church – evangelism. There was no such thing as church planting. The term did not exist. But a few years later, sometime in the late 1970s, someone said “Evangelism” is not enough, there must be “Follow up”. So teaching was developed on how to do “Follow-up”. A few years later in the early 1980s, someone said, “Follow up” is not enough. We must disciple. So manuals and books were written, and seminars were conducted, on how to disciple people. But then sometime in the mid 1980s, some Americans told us that it is not enough to disciple. We must plant churches. And later they added on the term “Church Growth” and then we saw the rise of mega-churches. So more books and seminars appeared on Church Planting and Church Growth.

The idea of planting churches did not come to Asia until sometime in the early 1990s. But by mid-2000 the terms “Church Planting” and “Church Growth” had become the normal vocabulary of churches around the whole world. Later the Southern Baptists in America took it even further. They said “Church Planting” is not enough. They introduced the concept of “Church Planting Movements”.  Others started a parallel stream of “Church Multiplication”.

But we have to ask this question : Where in the Bible did Jesus or Paul talk about church planting, or church growth, or church multiplication, or what it means to be a good church? No, it’s not in the Bible. In fact Jesus did not even tell them they had to be a church. Yes, let me repeat that : Jesus did not even tell them they had to be a church!! He started with the Kingdom (Mk.1:14-15) and He ended with the Kingdom (Acts.1:3) and throughout His time with the disciples He kept talking about His Kingdom. The Kingdom is mentioned 86 times in the gospels. Jesus mentioned the word “ekklesia” or “church” only twice. What did Jesus tell His disciples to do? and Why did Jesus not talk about church?

Jesus told His disciples :

• remain in Me so that you can be fruitful (Jn.15)
• you are salt and light, so be salt and light, so that God will be glorified (Matt.5:16)
• be perfect even as your Father in heaven is perfect (Matt.5:48)
• love one another as I have loved you (Jn.13:34-35)
• care for the hungry, thirsty, sick, homeless, naked, those in prison (Matt.25:31-46)
• use your gifts to advance the Kingdom (Lk.19:11-27, Matt.25:14-30)
• make disciples of all nations (Matt.28:18-20, Acts 1:8)
• preach the Kingdom of God (Matt.10:7, Lk.9:2, 6, Matt.24:14)
• heal the sick, cast out demons (Matt.10:8, Lk.9:1-2)
• be My witnesses to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8)
• produce the fruit of the Kingdom (Matt.21:43)

Perhaps you can add a few more things to the list above, but basically that is all Jesus told them to be and to do. There is no mention that they had to build anything or organize themselves to be something called “church”. Right up till the end of His life, and even after He resurrected, He did not talk with them about what is church, or how to do church, or how to do Sunday services, or cell meetings, or church finance, or church committees, or how to bring people to church, or how to plant or grow churches. In His last 40 days with His disciples, this is His last time with them, what does He talk with them about? Again it is about His Kingdom (Acts 1:3). Nothing about church. Not even what He meant by “church”. Today, the Bible and the “church”, which is something completely different from what Jesus meant by church, are the central things to Christians around the world. Why have we made this thing we call “church” which is something totally different from what Jesus meant by church into one of the central things in Christianity?

Why did Jesus not talk about church?

Where Jesus was concerned He had a dual mission – Kingdom and church. His mission was for His Kingdom to be restored on earth, and to get a bride for Himself. His bride would be the church – those who would fall in love with Him and lay down their lives for Him and for each other. That’s who He is coming back for. He is not coming back to marry a building, or an institution, or even a congregation.

Where we are concerned, we have only one mission – the Kingdom. We are the church, but our mission is the Kingdom. Our mission is not to establish ourselves on the earth. Jesus did not say, “Let the church come” or to pray “Let Your church be established on earth as in heaven.” He said, “Let Your Kingdom come. Let Your will be done on earth as it is done in heaven.” The end goal that Jesus set for us is the Kingdom, meaning we are to work with Him for His Kingdom to be restored on earth. We are to be His witnesses and to disciple nations so that all nations will be brought back under the rule of God, so that His Kingdom will reign on earth. The end goal is not church. The church is only the team to accomplish the mission. Where we are concerned, we are the means to an end. We are not to be the end itself.

Why did Jesus not talk about church? I believe it’s because He wants us to be focused and stay focused on the goal, rather than on how well we are doing. In order to accomplish our mission, our eyes must be on the goal. Not on ourselves. As soon as we take our eyes off the goal and start looking at ourselves, to see how well we are doing, we will be in trouble. The goal will never be accomplished.

For example, imagine a football team that is playing against another football team. Their aim must be to score goals. The aim is not to look good, or show off their football skills, or even what a great team they are. If they focus on scoring goals, they will prove themselves to be a great team. Jesus wants a beautiful and perfect bride, but we are not to focus on ourselves to make sure we look pretty. We are to focus on loving Jesus and loving people. If we take our eyes off Jesus and off people in need, and start looking at ourselves, we will be in trouble. But if we focus on Jesus and on loving people, we will become that beautiful and perfect bride that He is coming back for. Jesus didn’t tell us to build the church. He said He will build His church (Matt.16:18), meaning He will build His people up.

For whom do we exist?

Someone said, “The church exists for those who have yet to be part of it.” But what happens when we ignore what Jesus said and follow Constantine or focus on what the Americans have told us to do? Some years back I was teaching in the Philippines. On the first day of the workshop, one of the participants, a pastor, came up to me and told me he had read my book. He said he was very troubled by one of the questions in my book. It was the question, “What if your church was to close down, would anyone in the surrounding community miss it?” He said that when he read that question, he was very troubled because he wondered how the community around his church looked at his church. So he decided to do a survey. He typed out some questions on a sheet of paper, made copies of it and went around the neighborhood distributing the questionnaire to every home. A few days later he went and collected them back.

When he read the answers he said he was shocked. Most of the people did not like the church. Some even expressed hatred for the church. He said he had no idea what the people were thinking before that. One of the questions he asked in the questionnaire was, “What do you need? Is there something that we as a church can do to help you?” He said he asked that question as a result of reading my book. Many of them answered, “We need water.” He said to me, “You know what you said in your book is true. We have been so blind to the needs of people around us because we are so focused on church. Our community needed water but I did not realize that.” So he met with his church committee and asked them what they should do. They all decided, “Well pastor if that’s what they need, then let’s help them with water.” So they installed a stand pipe with a tap in the community, and they ran a pipe from their church building to that tap so that anyone could get water from that tap anytime they wanted.

What happened next was a surprise. He said many people in the community started coming to his church. He said previously they would have meetings with special guest speakers and special worship teams, and music and food and drinks, but few people came. Those who did come, ate the food but did not come back. But this time, there was no special speaker or special worship team, no food, no drinks, no banners, no handbills, just ordinary church, but people came. And then he said “You know, all we did was .. we gave them water.”

What would happen if your church were to close down? Would anyone in the surrounding community miss it?

What is the Biblical basis for church planting?

Whenever I ask church leaders and missionaries, where did Jesus or Paul talk about church planting, they will always say, “Paul said he planted and Apollos watered.” But hang on, when Paul said, “I planted but Apollos watered”, did you know that Paul was not talking about planting churches? He was talking about each one in the church having different functions. We have to understand what Paul was talking about from its context. What was happening in the church in Corinth? They were having quarrels and divisions. Some said they followed Paul. Others said they followed Apollos. Still others said they followed Peter, and of course there were those who said they followed Christ. That’s in 1 Cor.1:12.

So what did Paul say in response to this childishness? In 1 Cor.3:1-9, Paul said this : “Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly–mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men? What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe–as the Lord has assigned to each his task.

Did you see that? It is about different functions. Then he said :

“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.”

Can you see? Paul was not talking about church planting. He was telling them everyone has different functions. When he said “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow” in verse 6, what is that seed? He was not talking about starting a small group of people that meet regularly in a place. He was talking about the word of God that was planted in the hearts of the believers. Just as Jesus has told us in Lk.8:11, the seed is the Word of God that is sown on different types of ground. Notice Paul said “you are God’s field”. He did not say you are the seed. He said you are the field. The field is where the seed is planted. That corresponds with what Jesus said. We are not the seed. The word of God is the seed that is planted or sown in us. So let’s be very clear that when Paul was speaking about planting the seed, like Jesus, he was talking about planting the Word of God in people. Not planting churches.

As I mentioned earlier, the idea of Church planting as in having a group of people meet regularly in a place to pray and worship and learn the word of God, is not a bad thing. Some would say, “Something is better than nothing”, right? That’s true, but unfortunately that’s where church planters have stopped. When they have won some people to Christ and they are meeting regularly to worship and pray and learn the word of God, they think they have already successfully planted a church.  But what about housing, water, sanitation, electricity, roads, jobs, families, education, the health of the people, and the relationships between people in the community?

What if Jesus becomes King over a community – what would that community look like? What would it mean for God’s Kingdom to come and rule over a community? If everything is to be brought back under God’s rule, then everything in the life of the community that is broken as a result of sin needs to be healed and restored to God’s original design. Not just which God they believe in, but relationships between people, their mental and physical health, housing, water, sanitation, roads, education, work, industry, government, etc.

In Jn.10:10 Jesus said the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy, but I have come that they may have life and have it to the full. Everywhere I teach, whenever I ask Christians what has the devil been stealing, killing and destroying, they will always reply, “our peace and our joy”. Is that all? Listen carefully to what Jesus said – the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy, but I have come that they may have life. So what does the devil steal, kill and destroy? He steals, kills and destroys life – life as God designed it to be. As God meant it to be. Our mandate is to bring God’s Kingdom transformation to communities and nations. That’s what church is about. Not just do meetings in buildings.

Spirituality : Looking out or looking in? Others or Self?

What happens if we just do meetings in buildings? There are so many nations in Africa, that have anything between 50 – 90% of the population regularly attending church services every Sunday, yet these same nations are some of the least developed nations in the world that are rife with poverty and corruption and crime. Are the churches in Africa making any impact on their society and culture around them? Church planters there told me the same thing. They didn’t think anything else apart from the salvation of the soul is spiritual. What about churches in Asia? Same thing. Why? Because everyone is following the same ideas of church planting and church growth from America. So they want to have mega churches just like in America.

So more and more churches can be planted, and they can even grow to be mega churches, but is the love of the Father in them? Are they making any impact on society? How can that happen if church leaders don’t think that anything outside of the 4 walls of their church building is spiritual, or that it should concern the church? The more “mega” churches become, the more evident how inward looking they are. Many pastors who have become infected with this disease of course cannot see it. Neither can their congregations who have similarly become infected and become very happy with how big they have become. As we look at the immense social needs around us, is any of the church growth today impacting the world in any way? What happened when the first church grew in size? Wasn’t it God Himself who allowed persecution to scatter them from Jerusalem so that they would not get self-focused but get out there to advance His Kingdom (Acts 8:1,4, Acts 11:19-21)?

There was a mega church who wanted to build and start a school in a slum nearby. The church had many teachers, even school principals, and many businessmen of course, but no one in the church wanted to be involved. The leaders of the church met with me and asked me to help them hire people from NGOs to run the school and run programs for the slum. They said, “Money is no problem. Just tell us how much.” I asked them why no one in the church wanted to be involved. They said their people are wealthy. They are happy to give as much money as needed but they don’t want to be involved. I said to the leaders if their people don’t want to be involved, then they have to take the lead. That’s what leadership means. They replied, “We are church leaders. How can we go and serve the poor?” Shocking! I did not expect that kind of answer from them. So I said to them, “You want me to help you hire people so that you can pay them to do what Jesus has called you to do? Jesus can come down from His throne and come and lay down His life for us, but His leaders cannot go and serve their neighbors?”

What is the difference between church growth and Kingdom advance? I believe that it might be comparable with the difference between guys who go to the gym to build muscles, and guys who go and dig a well for a poor village. In the gym you can see guys building muscles for no other reason than to have bigger and bigger muscles.  From time to time they will go and stand in front of the mirror and look at themselves and see how much muscles they have put on. Can you imagine if someone were to ask those guys in the gym, “hey, what do you do with all that muscle?” They won’t know how to answer you!!  But Kingdom advance would be like the guys who get out there and dig wells and while they are doing it they naturally build some muscles also. The goal is not to put on muscles. The goal is to go and serve others. And we if we do, we will put on muscles naturally.

The spirituality that most Christians and churches understand is unfortunately an inner focus on something within a person or what’s happening within the four walls of the church. Not much different from the Hindu or Buddhist concept of spirituality. But a focus on oneself is the very opposite of what love is, which is other-centered instead of self-centered. The legal expert in Luke 10 was focused on his salvation, to make sure he had eternal life, but Jesus asked him who was neighbor to the man in need (Lk.10:25-37). True spirituality is love, which is a concern for others. That is what Jesus came to show us when He came to lay down His life for us. That is what He is looking for – people who become like Him, who will lay down their lives for others. That is church.

An Altogether Different Kind of Kingdom

The disciples thought that Jesus would set up His Kingdom by overthrowing the Romans. Jesus however told them that the Kingdom of God would be a very different kind of kingdom with a very different kind of culture than the kingdoms of this world. Not a kingdom that would come about by violence, but by humility, mercy, forgiveness, justice, serving one another and love. Evil will be overcome by good. Hatred will be overcome by love. Pride will be overcome by humility. And life will come forth through dying (Matt.5, 6 and 7). It would be a very different kind of kingdom that takes after the example of Jesus. (1 Pet.2:21, Rom.12:14, 17-21).

In Lk.3:4-14, when John the Baptist called for repentance, so that the King and His Kingdom can come, it was not a call to congregate at the temple or to return to religious activity. It was a call for a just and equal society. To make a highway for the King to come, the “mountains” must come down and the “valleys” must be filled and raised up, and the crooked paths made smooth. All this, including the baptism of the Holy Spirit, is described by Luke as part of the “good news” (Lk.3:18). So the rich and powerful need to come down and serve the poor. And whatever is crooked in us needs to be straightened out.

In practical terms, John said that those who have clothing and food must share with those who have none. Those in authority must be content with what they have. They must not be greedy and abuse their authority but must mete out law and justice fairly. Then the world will see God’s salvation (Lk.3:4-6). Or as Isaiah prophesied, the glory of the Lord will be revealed (Isa.40:3). In other words, God’s salvation will be seen by the world when there is a community of people who live in justice, equality and love – the very thing that God chose Israel to be as a model of God’s Kingdom community on earth – so as to draw other nations back to God. This is the Biblical picture of church.

Practically what this means is we are to live no longer for ourselves but for God and for others. So all our money, possessions, career, business, family, pride, ego, and our skills, must be surrendered to God, meaning shared with others, especially those in need. Unless we do, we will remain kings of our own kingdoms and still enslaved to Satan’s kingdom (Heb.2:15). The whole world is going in one direction – towards self-centeredness. God wants a community of love where people are going in the opposite direction – towards other-centeredness. That is what will distinguish the people of God from the people of this world. This is what God is waiting to see, and this is what the world is waiting to see.

Jesus said unless a man forsake all, he cannot be His disciple (Lk.14:33). Denying, surrendering and forsaking all is not about giving everything up to go live in a cave. Jesus is not talking about asceticism or Buddhism. He was talking about dying to self to follow Him. Follow Him to do what? When He went to the cross, He was laying His life down for us. When He calls us to take up our cross to follow Him, that is what He is calling us to do – to lay down our lives for others. It is about dying to self for others. That’s what love is about. Asceticism or going to live in a cave is totally useless.

How can that happen? Jesus said that the seed must fall to the ground and die or it will just remain a seed and not bear fruit (Jn.12:24). He was speaking of Himself as that seed, but He was obviously also speaking to His disciples of how they too had to lay down their lives in their battle for the Kingdom of God to advance (Jn.12:25-26). He had also told them that just as the Father had sent Him, He was sending them (Jn.20:21), meaning they would also have to do the same – to die to self for others. In the revelation, John saw that it was when the people of God did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death, like how Jesus went to the cross, that Satan is defeated, and that’s how the Kingdom would come (Heb.2:14-15, Rev.12:10-11).

Since this world came under Satan’s control through getting man to focus on themselves (“you will be like God” Gen.3:4), Satan’s power over us would be broken and he would be overcome when the opposite happens – when man no longer focuses on saving or preserving himself (Heb.2:15) but lays down their lives for Christ and for others. The early church understood this aspect of the Kingdom, of courage (Rev.21:8) and sacrifice in the face of persecution and suffering (Acts 14:22, Matt.5:10) and they lived it out (Acts 2:44-47, Acts 4:32-35, Acts 5:29).

Before I end with the church as the bride of Christ, I need to mention two things briefly :

1.  We must have revelation

Jesus told Peter, “On this rock I will build my church” (Matt.16:18). That rock He was speaking about is not Peter. God does not build His church on the foundation of man. When Jesus spoke of the rock, He was talking about foundation. Like in Matt.7 where He contrasted between those who build their house on sand and those who build their house on a rock.  What is that foundation upon which Jesus will build His church? The answer is what Jesus told His disciples in the preceding verse, “Flesh and blood have not revealed this to you but My Father in heaven .. and on this foundation I will build My church”. It is the foundation of revelation. The church is not built on money or man’s ideas. The church is built on revelation from God. We cannot do anything we want and call it “church”. We must have revelation from God what He wants, when He wants it, where He wants it, who to do what, and how it is to be done.

   2.  God’s part and our part

AW Tozer said, “In everything between God and man there are two parts – God’s part and man’s part. Man cannot do God’s part, and God will not do man’s part.” In other words, without Him we can’t. Without us He won’t. There are things which are God’s part. Don’t try to do what’s God’s part. And there are things which are our part which we must not neglect to do. We cannot wait and expect God to do our part. For example, none of us can die to self completely and lay down our lives for others. We are naturally self-centered and we love ourselves too much. We need to go to God every day to get His love, and be filled with His Spirit and His love. That is God’s part – to give us His love. That is going back to original design : Christ in us is the hope of glory (Col.1:27). And God’s part is to give us revelation. We must not try and figure things out by ourselves. Our part is to go to God and get revelation from Him, and receive His love. And our part is to decide to go and give and love. God will not decide for us. God will not make us give. What He has given us, we must decide what to do with it, and one day we will have to give an account for it.

The church is the bride of Christ

So much of teaching in church encourages people to love more, pray more, fast more, evangelize more, study more of the Bible, give more, attend more of this, get involved in more of that, go on more mission trips, etc. but where do we find the impetus to do more of all these? I see many church workers especially, flat out trying to keep up with more of everything. It is no wonder that for many people, if we were to ask them what their picture of God is, quite honestly they will tell you it is Someone sitting supreme on His throne demanding more holiness and more of everything from us. How about a change of picture?

John the Baptist, Paul and the apostle John tells us that Jesus came to get a bride for Himself and that bride is the church. Not a building, not an institution, and not a congregation, but people who are in love with Him and who are like Him. There is something in the Gospels that gives us a picture of this bride. It is an incident in which an unknown woman came up to Jesus and poured out her affection on Jesus in a very dramatic way. In response, Jesus told all the people who witnessed this incident, “Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” (Matt.26:13) See corresponding passages in Mark14:3-9, Matt.26:6-13, Lk.7:36-47, Jn.11:1-2, Jn.12:1-7, Lk.10:38-42. Why did Jesus say that? Many of us have preached the Gospel many times, but have any of us in sharing the Gospel ever added to it this story of what she did? What really is the gospel about?

Various pictures are given to us in the Bible of God’s relationship with us : Shepherd and sheep, Master and servant, Commander of the Army and soldiers, Vine and branches, Potter and clay, etc. but the final picture in the Book of Revelation is the Bridegroom and His Bride. Right from the very beginning we, male and female, were made in the image of God (Gen.5:1-2). Not only male. In our earthly human relationship with each other as males and females, we have an understanding of the relationship that God seeks from us. All through the Old Testament, God spoke of Israel as his wife who had deserted Him and committed adultery with other lovers, but throughout the ages, God has been looking for a bride – a people who will fall hopelessly in love with Him. I could be wrong, but I believe that incident in the Gospels is a picture that Jesus was giving us of the end goal of the Gospel – of God’s long lost bride forsaking all other loves, leaving her adultery, and returning to Him, and lavishing her love upon her Bridegroom.

Think of almost any exciting feel good movie you’ve watched. Why is it that it almost always has the same recurrent theme – there’s always a near-death crisis, a battle or struggle involved, with a villain, a beautiful maiden in distress, and a good guy hero who overcomes incredible odds at the peril of his own life to rescue her, and in the end he gets his woman and they ride off into the sunset? Though the stories vary, the theme remains almost the same, but we never tire of it, do we? Could it not be that it is in fact the very love story of God’s great love for us that He has embedded in every human heart? (Eccl.3:11).

When people think of God’s love for them, they mostly think of Jesus dying for them to give them eternal life, and God’s provision of food and shelter and His protection over them. In the Bible, God’s love for us is described not only those terms, but also in romantic terms :

As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you. (Isa.62:5)

I have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you to Myself. (Jer.31:3)

The Lord your God will take great delight in you. He will quiet you with His love. He will rejoice over you with singing. (Zeph.3:17)

Sadly, evangelical Christianity that focuses on salvation and makes correct doctrine its cornerstone seems to appreciate nothing else for why Jesus came, except to save us from hell, and “church” is either only a building, or an institution, or meetings, meetings and more meetings. It has no idea of a Jesus who came to die to win back His bride for Himself. Are people drawn to churches today like they were in the time of the early church when the love was evidently felt?  The answer is sadly no. Why not? This is what the Lord has told me : it is because churches are led by people who can be committed and zealous for God but they don’t know Him. Like what Paul said of the Jews, “For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge.” (Rom.10:2). Paul himself knew this – when Jesus appeared to Paul the first time, he asked, “Who are You Lord?” (Acts 9:5). Much like the elder son who served his father his entire life but he did not know his father’s heart (Lk.15:11-32). Or like the Ephesian church who were zealous for Jesus and totally committed to Him, yet their hearts were cold towards Him. Jesus said they had “left their first love” (Rev.2:1-7).

Jesus reminded the Pharisees that life is not found in the knowledge of the Scriptures. Life is found in Jesus. Jesus told the Pharisees : “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” (Jn.5:39-40). Someone said this : “The Word did not become a philosophy, theory or a concept to be discussed, debated or pondered. The Word became a person to be followed, enjoyed and loved.” Eternal life is described by Jesus not in terms of length of time, but as “knowing” (Greek : ginosko) God (Jn.17:3). That is the same Greek word used in the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) for how Adam knew Eve his wife. In other words, eternal life is an intimate relationship with God. If we know God, if we love Him, we would feel His heart and His love for people, and there would be a natural love in our hearts for others. The heart of the Gospel is love.

Despite wonderful revivals that have occurred in the history of the church, none of them have lasted. Each time, the revival and euphoria not only died away, but the church slumped back into mediocrity and sadly went back to business as usual. Why? Because there are three ways to live : by the Spirit, or by principles alone, or by rules and regulations. When there is no ongoing communion with Him, we will descend into living by principles only. Gradually, even that is lost and we descend into living by law. Dead churches make rules and regulations and follow systems to try and preserve its existence. There is a spiritual lesson for us to heed in how Moses told the Israelites to go and collect fresh manna every morning. Those who thought they could save on work and collected extra to keep for the next day, found their collection had turned rotten. We must have Him and His love afresh every day.

Like newlyweds, when this love rages on in our hearts, it will compel us to be fools for Christ. Paul spoke of even being mad : “If we are out of our mind, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For Christ’s love compels us ..”  (2Cor.5:13-14). True ministry is an outflow of this love. The question for us is this : Are we willing to be possessed by His love with all the consequences that follow – that we will lose ourselves and our lives to Him?

What is that change of picture I mentioned earlier? It is a picture of Jesus the Bridegroom who loves us romantically, who even now longs for us to just be alone with Him and immerse ourselves in His love. When we catch His love we are just bursting in our hearts to go out and love people, especially the poor. It all begins with Jesus. Drawing near to Him, knowing and sharing His heart, compelled by his love. Not some criteria to be fulfilled so that we are saved. Not some obligation to be fulfilled to be truly Christian. Do we know Him? Do we love Him? The Gospel of the Kingdom is about this King and His bride who loves Him like crazy. They are the ones whom Jesus is coming back for.