Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (1) - 4

Message Title: The Kingdom as the Subduing of Rebellion and as the Transfiguration of the Lord Jesus

two crucial words: subduing and transformation 

Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of heaven and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.

Genesis 1:26 is the first place in the Bible where mentions the word "subdue". as man, we are created to subdue all the negative things on the earth, that is to subdue Satan and his works on the earth. 

we need to see the difference between the work of mere saving souls and the work of God. God's need and work is to subdue the enemey, so that the way on the earth is open for His kingdom to be manifested. we are on this earty not merely for man's need, but even more for God's need. we are created to subdue the enemy, to subdue the earth. surely to preach the gospel is crucial, and should not be neglected. but if we are just doing the gospel preaching to save some sinners, this is not enough for Satan to suffer loss. to save souls satisfy man's need, but to deal with Satan satisfy God's need, and our life should be contributed to this. 

from God's view, a kingdom is a realm where He can govern for His will to be done and His purpose to be accomplished. if there is no such a realm, how can God carry out His work. therefore, there must be the kingdom where God can rule and reign. on the other aspect, the kingdom of God is actually q person, Christ Himself, as revealed in Luke chapter 17.  as shown in Ephesians 3:17, this Christ is making His home in our hearts, which means that the kingdom, which is Christ Himself, is in us. the outcome will be that, we will seek God's kingdom first. 

Matthew 6:33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

the key word here is "first". we are all seeking something, but we need to "first" seek His kingdom and His righteousness. 

I. The kingdom of God is the power to subdue rebellion

there are two great principles in the universe -  God's authority and Satan's rebellion. the unique controversy between God and Satan concerns authority and rebellion. Rebellion is the denial of God's authority and the rejection of God's rule. when man sinned, he rebelled against God, denied God's authority, and rejected God's rule. 

God will not let this rebellion continue. He will establish His kingdom on the earth. the kingdom of God is a divine realm where God can exercise His authority to work out His plan. 

Mark 3:27 But no one can enter into the house of the strong man and thoroughly plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will thoroughly plunder his house.

God has His house, which is the church. but Satan also has a house where millions of millions are kept in his house. in the four Gospels, we can see that the Lord bound Satan, the strong man, and entered into His house to plunder his goods so that sinner might be brouhgt into the house of God through regeneration for the kingdom of God. we need to pray for those who are still in Satan's house. "Lord, destroy Satan's kingdom, and bring in the kingdom of God."

in Mark 4:35-41 thre is the picture of rebellion and of the kingdom of God as the power to subdue rebellion. the fallen angels in the air and the demons in the water collaborated to frustrate the Lord Jesus from going to the other side of the sea because they knew that He would cast out the demons there. the Lord rebuked the wind and commanded the sea to be silent because of the rebellious angels and demons who were behind the scene. after He rebuked the wind and spoke to the sea, the wind ceased, and there was a great calm, for the rebellion of the evil angels and the demons had been subdued by the power of the kingdom. this also gives us the indication how we can pray to cooperate the Lord for the subduing. we can participate, especially through our prayer by the power of the kingdom to subdue so many negative things. we need the Lord to train us to pray in this way. 

II. the kingdom of God is the transfiguration of the Lord Jesus

the kingdom of God is the transfiguration of the Lord Jesus, the shinging of the reality of the Lord Jesus. for the Lord Jesus to be transfigured means that His humanity was saturated and permeated with His divinity. this transfiguration, this glorification is equal to His coming in His kingdom. this transfiguration is also going on within each of us, His kingdom people, to bring us more and more into the reality of the kingdom. "Lord, shine in us. Your shining brings in the kingdom." 

Matthew 13:43 Then the righteous will shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.