Inaugurated Through Death - What is the Kingdom of Jesus

1 Chronicles 17:11-14 When your days are fulfilled that you must go to be with your fathers, then I will set up one of your descendants after you, who will be from your sons; and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build for Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be his father and he shall be My son; and I will not take My favor away from him, as I took it from him who was before you. But I will settle him in My house and in My kingdom forever, and his throne will be established forever.

When we look at this promise, the story of Jesus makes no sense. If Jesus was supposed to establish this kingdom and be the fulfillment of this covenant, then why is there not a King Jesus sitting on the throne of Israel? When God promised David an everlasting kingdom, David was sitting on a throne over a physical worldly kingdom, which went to war, took taxes, and made laws. Today there is a state of Israel, but by no means are they a perfect utopia leading the world to worship God. Jesus, rather than overthrowing Rome, died at the hands of Romans, and we still are in a world where evil exists, worldly powers rule over us and Jesus is not sitting upon a throne on earth anywhere.

The way Jesus lived His life and the things He taught are not conducive to leading a kingdom which will take over the world the way empires of new and old have. Adolf Hitler pointed this out in a private conversation with his inner circle. While Hitler put on the face like he was a Christian, resented it because it promoted meekness and sacrifice. Hitler was all about power and control.You see, Germany was a very Christian country. The country of Martin Luther. Luther’s translation of the Bible into German lead to there being one German language rather than a range of dialects and was looked at as the birth of German culture. Much like what the King James Bible did a few decades later for England.

Hitler knew that if he was to keep his power and accomplish everything he desired he needed the church's support, which He got, but he admitted Christianity was the least convenient religion to have if you were to build a country that is all about power and control. Here is exactly what Hitler said: “The Mohammedan religion too would have been much more compatible to us than Christianity. Why did it have to be Christianity with its meekness and flabbiness?” Hitler, in this statement, shows why Christianity is such a foreign concept for us, because it is not about power and about taking what is yours, it's about giving up all you have and trusting what God is offering you is better. Following Jesus is about living a life that is not about you at all, but about living in the service of others. Christianity is not conducive to the individualism, which rules American and Western culture today.

Jesus’ kingdom did not come to conquer through war, overpowering by force the powers of the world, even though that would have worked. Jesus made sure Pilate knew that in John 18:36. Jesus laid down the sword and bore the full force of the worst evil could do to Him, and defeated it by rising from the dead (Colossians 2:15). Through death, Jesus inaugurated the Kingdom of God on Earth. Jesus’ exaltation to king of the universe was upon a cross in which was used for death (Philippians 2:8-1; Hebrews 12:2). It was the symbol of Roman rule across the world. Rome used the cross to show everyone, this is what happens when you oppose Rome. Jesus used that device as His throne. This is why the world cannot understand it. The world is so focused on power and control, that the world would be able to understand the cross if right after Jesus got up He walked in to the Temple Presented Himself before all of Israel, then with all Israel rose and marched on Rome. But Jesus did not do this. Jesus appeared to His followers who were mostly if not all of lowly social status and told them continue to follow me, I am sending the Holy Spirit the helper to empower you, and now go to all the world and make disciples by sharing what you have seen and living lives like the one I have lived (Matthew 28:16-20; Acts 1:7-9).

Colossians 1:13-23

For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation: for by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. And although you were previously alienated and hostile in attitude, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His body of flesh through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach—if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.

This is foolish to the world (1 Corinthians 1:18-25). The reason which the world opposes the gospel so much is that is requires you to die to this life. You must kill your god complex where you believe you are the sole authority of your life, and live under the rule of King Jesus. You are freed from evil once you profess Jesus as Lord, but not for freedom's sake. The American church likes to preach freedom, freedom, freedom and stops there. But do you know what the apostles preached? “I AM A SLAVE TO KING JESUS. COME AND DIE.” If we stop at freedom, then we have drained the cross of its power and the gospel is a humanistic message of individualism, which the American church has done. Rather than preaching Jesus is Lord, we limit Jesus to our redeemer and savior, and empower ourselves to sit on the throne of our lives. This is no gospel at all. This is a false gospel. Where the pinnacle is getting to do whatever you want, which is the pinnacle of the worldly hope, and that is exactly what enslaved us to evil in the first place. If you limit Jesus to just your savior, then you receive no redemption at all and when you are face to face with Jesus rather than, “well done good and faithful servant”, you will hear, “I never knew you.”

Redemption is we are saved from a bad king and are now under the rule of a good one. We exist before Jesus in a kingdom of our own making, where we are overpowered by evil. Instead of us being the rulers of our lives, the forces of evil rule us, and we are enslaved to them. Even though we fully believe we are the god of our life, we are really just living in an open air prison. This means that our lives lack values or direction of our own choosing. Our lives are ruled by the demands of the world, and we try to fit in. We try to do the right things so that the world will reward us and give us everything we ever wanted. But the harder we work, the more that is demanded of us. The world never lightens up; life only gets harder.

Are you tired? Does it feel that this life only brings burdens and troubles? All around us is terror, tragedy, death, and struggle. Do you feel you cannot go on another day like this? Are you filled with worry and anxiety? Confused about what you should do with your life? I have good news. The new life Jesus is offering you is free from that, because all of those worries, they are Jesus’ responsibility.

What is the reason to become a Christian if death is the requirement? What good can come from dying? Nothing if there is not a resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:17-22). Everything if there is a new life awaiting you on the other side of death. Which is the primary promise of Jesus. That if you die, you will receive His life, being resurrected with Him (Romans 6:4; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Colossians 3:3; Galatians 2:20). There is a new life available to you right now. Eternal life is not the quantity of life, but it is a new quality of life that happens to last forever.

The forgiveness of sins is more than God accepting our apology. Sin, is how to define the world without God. It is a perversion. God, in whom created the world, cannot be separated from it. If you do not believe in God as creator and master of the universe you are missing the very essence of life on earth. We are more than matter; we are more than atoms. Many people look only to the physical aspects of the universe in their search for God when there is nothing that is purely physical that makes life worth living. Love, kindness, friendship, purpose, fulfillment are not physical things, but these are the things in which every human wants more than money, or possessions.

Sin gives us answers to what life is about that are wrong. Because sin is a perversion of God’s good world. Sin is not an act. Sin consumes the life of everything in which is separated from God. This is why Paul tells us in Romans 8:22 that the whole creation groans to be redeemed. Because humans were given dominion over the earth to rule on God’s behalf, when Adam and Eve sinned, they were not the only ones separated from Go. The whole earth was separated from God, which is why natural disasters happen. All creation is in chaos. The forgiveness of sins is God freeing the world from the grip of sin.

Therefore, every part of your life that is not surrendered to God is an area of your life that is a slave to sin. This is why we must die, because until we proclaim Jesus is Lord with our entire being we are consumed by Sin, and we must enter into the new world in which Jesus has revealed to us the same way in which Jesus did who is the first to enter this new reality and now welcomes us all to follow Him into it. This is why Paul says in Jesus we have Redemption, the forgivingness of sins. The forgiveness of our sins is great, but we cannot think of forgiveness as simply God accepting our sorry. God forgiving our sins welcomes us into His new reality, in which we can experience life the way He intended right now. A life in which we are in a relationship with God. A life in which God is the center and essence.

Verses 15-20 in Colossians are believed to be a hymn about the supremacy of the Son of God over the world and how he reconciled all creation to God (Himself) through death on a cross. That Jesus is God, who created the world, even the ruling forces which rule the world today. He created them and, therefore, rules over them. Jesus conquered the world not through force, not through power as we know it. Jesus has all the power and authority in the universe and He, as a human, did not use it to make His life more comfortable. He did not use it for self gain, but lived His life as a servant of all and gave His life so that we could experience freedom from the grip of sin and live a life of peace, joy, love, and purpose.

Jesus redefines our view of power and what matters about life. Jesus shows us that reality is not simply what we can touch or feel, but He shows us it is the things in which we cannot see that matter the most. That loving relationships, and making the lives of those around you better is the greatest things in life. Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world because he wanted to show us that power is not defined by who can conquer everyone else. Rather, all power and dominion belong to God and when we know that and trust in His rule, we find the life we have been searching for the whole time. We can bring down our walls which we built to protect us from others and which protect our own interest and be a person who embraces others with radical love and generosity.

The reality in which Jesus opened up for us 2,000 years ago when His inauguration day came, which the inauguration ceremony started with death on a cross, then ended 3 days later, He got up and welcomed us into the new life in which He was then living in. Jesus Himself went before us all in this process, and now all we have to do is follow Him. All you have to do is trust in Him. True trust brings life change. If you believe in something, your life will reflect that belief.

What does new life look like? A life that dies to what we once believed which was we are the center of the universe, that we live our lives just for us, and we start living our lives to make the world a better place doing the only thing that can really change things, which is going and making disciples by sharing the good news and then bringing people into our community of Jesus followers where they can figure this new life out.

You do not have to live a life that is defined by chaos, or “busyness”. Chasing success, fulfillment, and joy constantly. You can live a peaceful life in which you experience the best of what being human is, and it is not on you to find or figure out because it is all found in Jesus. The kingdom, the reality which Jesus welcomes us into has no walls, or boarders. You pay no taxes and you do not have to worry if this ruler has your best interest in mind because He has already paid the ultimate price for you to be in relationship with Him. For you to see what life is really about and now you can live in this new life for the rest of eternity.

But to the world, this seems foolish, it is so counterintuitive to everything we are taught by the world that we ourselves struggle to believe it. Which is why we must die to the life we know and allow Jesus to resurrect us into the new life He has for us. Death is the only way to properly explain what it takes to enter this new life because, to the world, when we truly live in this new life in Christ, we are good as dead. The way that life a part from God works is do everything you can to make your own life better because everyone only cares about themselves.

The reality Jesus has for us says, give your life away to making the world around a better place. This new life cost you everything that you know in this moment and calls you into something brand new. If you want that if you are tired of your old life of being all about you, and you see now that nothing you have been trying is working and you see it will never work, it’s time to die to that life so that Jesus can give you this brand new one. If you have been a professing Christian but you look at your life and say, I haven’t really died for Christ. I have said He is my Savior but my life is still about me, Jesus is not truly my Lord, this is for you as well. It is time to die to the life in which we have built on the foundation of ourselves in which Sin rules, and enter God’s new life.