The Kingdom of God is...

Part Two

As I said in the last post I want to take a further look into what righteousness does for us besides bringing us into right-standing with God

Because of our elevation through adoption we now have a place of advocacy with our Heavenly Father.  "For what does the Scripture say? "ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS ACCOUNTED TO HIM FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS." (Romans 4:3, NKJV)

I think what gets overlooked about that statement is because of his righteousness Abraham was then able to plead with God for the souls of Sodom and Gomorrah and essentially was the reason his nephew Lot was spared.

Look at Moses who stood in a place of advocacy before God for Israel when God wanted to wipe them out and start over.  What qualified Moses to stand in that place?  His right standing with God.  And God listened.  Don’t discount that.  

As long as we walk before Him in this righteousness we have the amazing opportunity to influence the hand of God.  We will cover this later in the section I have titled “Take Your Seat.”

This whole business of coming into righteousness isn’t just about us.  It is about what God wants to accomplish through us.  We have been elevated so we can assist Him in the great work of redemption and “the restoration of all things” (Acts 3:21).

2.   Righteousness takes us from being mere servants to being friends with God.  Listen to what Jesus said to His disciples at the Last Supper:

No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.

(John 15:15-16 NKJV)

Jesus went a step further when He said to Mary at the tomb:  "Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to  My brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.  (John 20:17, NKJV)

Wow!  Not just friends now but brothers.

It is essential that we understand that God wasn’t looking for robots to simply carry out His directives.  He has always wanted willing participants who would join with Him in shaping what He had created and walk with Him into the future.

From Adam, when God walked with him in the garden in the cool of the day, until now God has always been looking for those to whom He “will be their God and they will be His people,” (Rev 21:3).  This was His motivation for creation; creating beings like Himself with whom He could have communion and with whom He could share His love.

I hope you are beginning to see the wider picture regarding the Kingdom of God being first and foremost about "righteousness" and how wonderful being righteous before Him is.

I hope you will stick around as we look into more of what the Kingdom of God is.