"The kingdom of God is within you"

[BilliardsBall]

I'd say that's a reasonably accurate way of putting it.

And that's why I'm concerned.

"Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe."

 

[savagewind]

And that's why I'm concerned.

"Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe."

When a person goes on sinning there is no sacrifice for it. Accepting the salvation which comes from Jesus means a person must take care of it which is a partnership with it. "Draw close to God and God will draw close to you". A partnership with The Way, The Truth and The Life. Salvation depends on our accepting it. Do you think anyone who couldn't care less about what Jesus can do will be saved too?

 

[BilliardsBall]

When a person goes on sinning there is no sacrifice for it. Accepting the salvation which comes from Jesus means a person must take care of it which is a partnership with it. "Draw close to God and God will draw close to you". A partnership with The Way, The Truth and The Life. Salvation depends on our accepting it. Do you think anyone who couldn't care less about what Jesus can do will be saved too?

1. I think we have different understandings/interpretation of Hebrews 6 and 10, etc.

2. Why is someone who has assurance "not caring less" about what Jesus did? How do those go together? I'm GRATEFUL for salvation and assurance and always try to live accordingly, but that's what grace and salvation are, a bulwark against my weaknesses when I stumble.

 

[Yeshua1984]

Think of the word "kingdom" more like the word "fatherhood". It is the condition and state of God being king. He has given people free will to follow Him or not follow Him but He wants to be restored to a relationship with us where He is king of our lives and where we can follow Him in a supernatural way of life. That condition of being king takes place within us and through us as we choose to use our free will to follow and obey Him and build a relationship with Him through His Spirit. Does that make any sense? It's a pretty heady thing to try to describe.

Joshua
www.theusualmystics.com

 

[Kolibri]

Think of the word "kingdom" more like the word "fatherhood". It is the condition and state of God being king. He has given people free will to follow Him or not follow Him but He wants to be restored to a relationship with us where He is king of our lives and where we can follow Him in a supernatural way of life. That condition of being king takes place within us and through us as we choose to use our free will to follow and obey Him and build a relationship with Him through His Spirit. Does that make any sense? It's a pretty heady thing to try to describe.

Joshua
www.theusualmystics.com

While it is true that there is a sense of belonging that needs to be considered, (we have to accept the paradigm to live according to it consistantly), Daniel 2:31-44 is very good about defining the kingdom in concrete terms. There was the dream of the immense image with a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, abdomen and thighs of copper, legs of iron, and feet being made of a mixture of iron and clay. These body parts were defined as literal governments that had significant bearing on God's people through-out the ages, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome and what we see today, the Anglo-American world power that is partially strong like iron (Rome) and partly fragile like clay (the people that sap the unity of the government). In verses 40,44 it is God's kingdom that crushes the feet and ends up as a result pulverizing the remnants of all these governments that came before it and replaces them.

Since the image that gets replaces is a representation of literal governments, does it not seem reasonable to see the Kingdom of God as a literal government as well?

 

[Yeshua1984]

While it is true that there is a sense of belonging that needs to be considered, (we have to accept the paradigm to live according to it consistantly), Daniel 2:31-44 is very good about defining the kingdom in concrete terms. There was the dream of the immense image with a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, abdomen and thighs of copper, legs of iron, and feet being made of a mixture of iron and clay. These body parts were defined as literal governments that had significant bearing on God's people through-out the ages, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome and what we see today, the Anglo-American world power that is partially strong like iron (Rome) and partly fragile like clay (the people that sap the unity of the government). In verses 40,44 it is God's kingdom that crushes the feet and ends up as a result pulverizing the remnants of all these governments that came before it and replaces them.
Since the image that gets replaces is a representation of literal governments, does it not seem reasonable to see the Kingdom of God as a literal government as well?

I think there is a bit of both. All the examples you listed were literal governments in the world which consisted of people going against what God wanted. Because we have freewill, and God doesn't impose His will automatically, those groups opposed the kingdom of God in this world. There is a literal kingdom of God in a heavenly sense but the aspect of the kingdom of God being within us and our being able to bring it into the world (which I think is central in the question this thread started with) revolves around each of Jesus' followers giving Him power over their lives. It's like Jesus prayed in what we now call "The Lord's Prayer." God's kingdom comes when His will is done on Earth as it is in heaven. That happens when we tell God that He is our king and, for our part, we will follow His way of life. This brings His kingdom to bear in the world through us and comes from His kingship within us.

 

[Kolibri]

I think there is a bit of both. All the examples you listed were literal governments in the world which consisted of people going against what God wanted. Because we have freewill, and God doesn't impose His will automatically, those groups opposed the kingdom of God in this world. There is a literal kingdom of God in a heavenly sense but the aspect of the kingdom of God being within us and our being able to bring it into the world (which I think is central in the question this thread started with) revolves around each of Jesus' followers giving Him power over their lives. It's like Jesus prayed in what we now call "The Lord's Prayer." God's kingdom comes when His will is done on Earth as it is in heaven. That happens when we tell God that He is our king and, for our part, we will follow His way of life. This brings His kingdom to bear in the world through us and comes from His kingship within us.

Question: Do you think then that mankind will prevent a cataclysmic event such as Da 2:44 by a mass conversion? Or is the set day to judge the inhabited earth in righteousness unavoidable and certain? (Acts 17:31)