Paidion Books Subjects Index

Please note that all Scriptures may not be posted at this time.

Mt. 6:10 π Mt. 6:33 π Mt. 13:41-42 π Jn. 7:17 π Acts 17:30 π 1 Cor. 15:24 π Phlp. 2:9 π Heb. 5:9 π Rev. 12:10

Jesus barely used the word ekklesia (this is the Greek word which in English is often mis-rendered "church") - using the word only three times, all in one gospel and two in one verse! Jesus did not preach a "gospel of the church" - He preached the gospel of the kingdom. So did all the apostles and preachers in the New Testament. So where do we find the justification for a message that says merely, "Come to church and stay if you like"?

The gospel of the kingdom is the message that there is a King, the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom every knee must bow. ( Phlp. 2:9 ) The King commands all men everywhere to repent of their sins and wicked, self-centered lives ( Acts 17:30 ) and, to those who believe in His name and obey His commands, He becomes the source of their eternal salvation. ( Heb. 5:9 ) The kingdom, the realm that belongs to the King, is wherever God's will is sought and done ( Mt. 6:10 ) - and only those who desire to know and do God's will can and will know whether the message being presented to them genuinely comes from God or the speaker speaks only from his own authority and resources. ( Jn. 7:17 ) And only those who seek God's will, His kingdom and His righteousness (what is right and good in God's eyes) first and foremost can hope to receive the things need for life as a pilgrim in this world. ( Mt. 6:33; top )

At the end of the age, the King will send forth His angels (spiritual messengers and servants) to remove from His kingdom "all things that offend [stumble, cause offense], and those who practice lawlessness [what is right in their own eyes], and will cast them [the sons of the devil who have merely posed as or pretended to be sons of the King] into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth." ( Mt. 13:41-42 ) After that, the King will hand the kingdom up to God, the devil will be cast down from the heavens to the earth and thus the end will come. ( 1 Cor. 15:24 , Rev. 12:10; top )

The following articles and writings explore various aspects of God's will and His kingdom:

• Against the Night: The "Church" Paradigm (a la Colson) by Neil Girrard. Chuck Colson's excellent spiritual and political analysis of a decade ago are marred by his own presupposed paradigms.
• Doing the Will of God by Neil Girrard. A study in the New Testament about the importance of doing the will of God.
• The Importance of Christ - by Neil Girrard. Christ is the King, the Absolute Monarch, over those who claim to be His - so why isn't He obeyed?
• The Work of the Wilderness by Neil Girrard. If God is leading us, why are we still in the wilderness?

I'd love to hear comments and/or questions from you! Email me!

God bless you.