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! Since Jesus most likely spoke only Aramaic, there is an excellent likelihood that He never used the Greek word at all in His whole lifetime - it was added by Matthew at a later time! 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:

All articles are formatted as simply as possible and should print directly from your web browser.

• 1 Corinthians 2:14 Without the Spirit of truth we are unable to understand the things of God.

• 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.
• The Bread of Life by Neil Girrard. Jesus said He was the bread of life. What did He mean by that?
• By the Numbers by Neil Girrard. God's choice of the number "one" to describe Himself is no accident.
• Doing the Will of God by Neil Girrard. A study in the New Testament about the importance of doing the will of God.
• A Fine Line - Neil Girrard The believer who wants to obey God must constantly choose between righteousness and lawlessness - but few seem to know what lawlessness really is.
• God the Judge of All by Neil Girrard. The New Testament clearly says that God is to be the Judge of all men - so why does the "church" teach exemption from judgment for their attendees? And just what are the standards by which we shall all be judged?
• 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 Message of the Kingdom by Neil Girrard. Everyone knows the parable of the sower and the seed - so what really does the seed represent?
• Mighty in the Scriptures by Neil Girrard. William Beck, a translator of the New Testament, called for men like Apollos who were mighty in the Scriptures. But will that really help us?
• The Purpose of Parables - Neil Girrard Parables serve a much more precise purpose in the teachings of Jesus than most people realize.
• Simplicity in Christ - Neil Girrard The simplicity that Christ calls us to walk in applies also, believe it or not, to how we are to assemble.
• Strong Delusion by Neil Girrard. When God sends strong delusion on all who take pleasure in unrighteousness, who can stand?
• A Tangled Web by Neil Girrard. If knowing and doing the will of God is such a central part of following Christ, why do some claim that God's purposes and will are unknowable?
• The Test of Obedience by Neil Girrard. Our obedience to Christ's commands is still a requirement to attain to eternal salvation.
• A Thing of Bronze by Neil Girrard. The bronze serpent Moses raised in the wilderness some 3500 years ago holds more implications for us today than most realize.
• The Voice of God by Neil Girrard. Hearing the voice of God has more to do with following Christ than most seem to realize.
• Who Is My Neighbor? by Neil Girrard. Jesus' story of "the good Samaritan" has more to do with life today than many people realize.
• 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.