Culture of the Kingdom
Today’s Topic: Interpretation of Scriptures Part 2: Tradition vs. Kingdom
Scripture: Matthew 16:18; Matthew 4:17; Matthew 6:33; Luke 4:43;
Greetings Kingdom Citizens
In the last message we took a tiny glimpse into the traditional way the Scriptures are interpreted and realized that when you base the scriptures off of your traditions then you are being lead by the tradition and not the Spirit of God. Let me give you an example. People who take the historical (traditional) interpretation of the Scriptures tend to use phrases such as “We are the keepers of the traditions…” or “We are the real church of Christ because..” For example some people say that the Catholic church is the real church that Christ established because their church is a direct lineage from Peter. They tend to use Matthew 16:18 as the reason how Peter is the one who first received authority to rule over the church by His confession. I have ran into people who state (so if it is not true please find those people and correct them) that the “Church of Christ (which is a denomination)” is the true church of Christ and I have been given literature and all of this stuff but what it shows is where the foundation of their faith is. When you make statements like the one above or similar your mindset is a traditional, institutional mindset that has been influenced by the doctrines of men. They do not talk about the Kingdom of God in the sense of it being present currently and can relatively even talk about it at all. So what culture are they promoting? Many of those institutional models say they have a lineage such as the Roman church who state that their historical lineage is from Peter and then after Peter is this person and after that person there is this person. So it makes the church have a physical lineage for its existence and relevance. The Kingdom of God, the central message of Jesus Christ, is not physical and our lineage as born again believers, Kingdom citizens and sons of God is NOT PHYSICAL. It is spiritual. The Kingdom is spiritual, it cannot be seen with the natural eye.
Can we stick with Jesus please? Is He not the Lord and the Christ? Jesus is the pattern Son and has been given to us to bring us to the Father, in Himself (The Body of Christ). So our understanding of the scripture needs to come from the source of the power and authority to give the interpretation and that is the Lord. Now where am I going with this? Without Kingdom culture you cannot properly understand the scriptures. There is no coincidence that Jesus comes with a message to repent for Kingdom of Heaven is at hand (Matthew 4:17). There is no coincidence that Jesus was sent to preach the Kingdom of God (Luke 4:43). There is no coincidence that Jesus would tell the multitudes to “Seek FIRST the Kingdom of God…” (Matthew 6:33). It is all about the Kingdom. This Kingdom not only has citizens but it is also a family of sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty. So it is the uttermost of importance that the church you belong to foster the Kingdom culture and the central message of that church should be the Kingdom of God. It is not about who succeeds who. Being a son of God is about being born from above. Now once you are born from above and received Holy Spirit then your understanding of the scriptures should change in the sense that you are to be lead by Holy Spirit in everything you do, including receiving revelation and interpretation of Scriptures. See many of those traditional religious institutions have derived their own interpretation and called it God and when confronted with the real truth, they cannot support it with the Scripture, just with what they have heard. Hence we still see a decline in the spiritual growth of people because they have been lead to believe in the doctrine of the institution and not the Gospel of the Kingdom. To understand the heart of the Kingdom, you must understand the work of the Holy Spirit.
In the next message we will look at the work of the Holy Spirit in understanding the Kingdom and discipling sons in its culture.
At the Father’s Service,
Elder Calvin Calhoun Jr.
