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Not eating and drinking, a new Kingdom

Hello there!

It has been a while since I posted. Today, we resume our exploration of the Kingdom.

Last time, we began to explore the concept of the Kingdom of God/Heaven – here. We said this Kingdom is ruled by Jesus and is characterized by a certain way of life. Today, we look more in-depth at this Kingdom.

As mentioned here, for us to be a part of this Kingdom, we must repent and turn to God – Matthew 18 vs 3 - Then he (Jesus) said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. This is because this Kingdom will never end. It is unlike “mighty” Kingdoms that have fallen or would fall. It is guaranteed to outlast time. An angel in a message to Mary (the mother of Jesus) in Luke 1 vs 33 said “And he (Jesus) will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”

As Christians, we are to seek this Kingdom above all else – Matthew 6 vs 33 - “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” This means our minds should be wrapped up in the things of the Spirit consistently. As we eat, drink, study, work etc., we should focus our heart on the things that point us to our savior, Jesus. Colossians 3 vs 2 says we should set our affection on things above, not on things on the earth. I believe our heart shows us what we are focused on. As David said in Psalm 139 vs 23 – 24, we must continually ask God to search our heart.

We cannot be a part of this Kingdom and follow the ways of another Kingdom. Like Jesus said in Matthew 6 vs 24 - “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” Mammon (money) here isn't only money. It can also represent anything outside of God that consumes our mind, heart, thought. For example, our personal ambition or agenda outside the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Also, the Holy Spirit is at the center of this Kingdom. In Romans 14 vs 17, Paul said - for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. From here, we see that the Kingdom isn’t centered around vain arguments or desires of the flesh, but instead is deeply rooted in the Holy Spirit – see here for more.

In this Kingdom, transformation in inevitable. Colossians 3 vs 10 says “Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.” We see from here that as we put off our old sinful nature and put on this new nature, our mind, thoughts, and desires become refined. With this process of refinement comes transformation into the imagine of Christ. As in 2 Corinthian 3 vs 18, we are transformed into His likeness from glory to glory.

Christ is all that matters in this Kingdom. Our earthly identity does not matter, because we are now united with Christ. Galatians 3 vs 27 – 28 says “And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus”.  With this new identity comes unity. Jesus prayed for true unity in His Kingdom in John 17 vs 21. He said, “I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me”. 

The devil also has his own kingdom. It is from this kingdom that we have been rescued. Colossians 1 vs 13 says “For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son,”.

According to Matthew 7 vs 21 - Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. Where “will” here would mean anything that God has spoken to us through His word and His Spirit.

My prayer for us today is that the will and desire of the Father would be utmost in our hearts. May He reveal more of Himself to us as we seek him diligently. As He said in Jeremiah 29 vs 13 -  “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.


Thank you for reading and God bless you! 😊

Mayowa O



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