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THE KINGDOM OF
GOD
TODAY
ARE YOU LIVING THE KINGDOM
OF GOD?
©
Carlos Padilla, August 2012
...The
Kingdom of God is within you... Luke 17:21, Jesus replied. If we believe and
understand that the Kingdom of God is among us, the Church across the
world, why is it that we Christians find it hard to live the Kingdom of God
right now on earth, while we patiently wait for the return of Jesus Christ and
the establishment of the universal Kingdom of God, when all the kingdoms become
kingdoms of God, what is stopping us from living our life like the Son of
God would in our circumstances?. The reply is what Jesus said to Nicodemus: ...Unless one is born again, he cannot see the
Kingdom of God... John 3:3. This reply, when applied to a Christian who does not experience much
spiritual growth or does not serve the Lord or his neighbour the way he should,
does not mean that he is not born again, but that he has not implemented in his
life the Spiritual Disciplines that Jesus Christ taught us.
Some
days ago, when I was spending my time of solitude with the Lord, I
listened to a worship song written by a brother in the faith and messianic
musician Paul Wilbur, in his album "Jerusalem Arise" and the song says at the
end: "For Your Name is Holy/Let the Weight of Your Glory Fall", where the the
worship focuses in the message of the title, on the glory that comes from
the Throne of Glory when we enter the Holy of Holies, the heart of the Father
through the Blood of Christ to worship Him only. This is the experience now, but
it will be like this for eternity. The Kingdom of God covers the whole of
eternity, this is why we can also enjoy it now, in spite of this society
against it.
The
Kingdom of God will not cease to grow, and the Church has more believers
every day in the whole world. The Bible tells us that God is working: ...My Father has been working until now, and I have been working...
John 5:17, and is the Son of God who says it. The holy Spirit is also working,
the evidence is that the Church is alive and growing, and every one of us can
realize in our lives that He is always taking care if us. It is our
responsibility to work for the Kingdom every day of our lives, since we bear our
cross and we share the Yoke of Jesus Christ. This is why our heart must speak
the Word of God, let it flow from our mouths, as fountains of living waters, because
we love our neighbour, for the glory of the Lord. This is our job, Therefore let
us give the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name,
Hebrews 13:15, and we cannot forget about mutual help. We have the Spiritual
Disciplines to help us, like athletes, like soldiers, for Christ.
This
study is about the Kingdom of God as a way of life. To read another study
about the Kingdom of God, it's characteristics and its coming, read
The Church, The Kingdom of
God on Earth. The Kingdom of God is the purpose of the
Gospel, and we must live the Kingdom of God with Him every day, and never
stop sharing the easy yoke of Jesus Christ for the worries of this world. The
Bible reminds us in Matthew 6:33 ...But seek first
the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall
be added to you.
I
think that the following selection of Bible texts and comments are the best expression of how
to imitate Jesus Christ to love the Kingdom of God now, until He comes on the
final day, before eternity, which we have access to next to Him through faith in
the Son of God, in resurrection, to live in the Lord's Paradise forever.
BIBLE
TEXTS WITH COMMENTS ABOUT LIVING THE
Kingdom of God TODAY
In the
following texts we will see that God's message to live His Kingdom is based on
three different aspects of our live: Spiritual Disciplines, Virtue and the Seven
Gifts of the Spirit, and to be considered a vessel for honour through
His Grace.
The
basic and permanent disciplines in the life of a Christian are: Prayer, fasting,
solitude, silence, worship, integrity, daily and systematic study of the Bible,
belonging to the body of Christ, good works and love of God.
A
great supplement to the Disciplines are
Virtue and the Seven
Gifts of the Spirit... 4by
which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that
through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the
corruption that is in the world through lust.
5But also for this very reason,
giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to
virtue knowledge,
6to knowledge
self-control, to self-control
perseverance, to perseverance godliness,
7to godliness
brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness
love.
8For if these
things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the
knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And the Spiritual Disciplines and the
Virtue and the Seven Gifts of the Spirit come from the God's furnace in our
lives, where we are transformed from
Jars of Clay to Jars of God,
from the moment that God wins our heart. All this training also allows us to
fulfill the Golden Rule and this is what Christ challenges us to do.
EXODUS 19
...6And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy
nation.
The Church is a kingdom of priests
and a holy nation, this is also what the New Testament teaches us, 1Peter
2:9-10. This is the transformation of the yoke of Christ, the cross of every
Christian, of the disciple of Jesus Christ who follows Him everywhere, every
day, living in the Kingdom of God until He comes.
1CHRONICLES 29
...11Yours, O
Lord, is the
greatness, the
power and the glory, the
victory and the majesty; for
all that is in heaven and in
earth is Yours;
Yours
is the kingdom, O
Lord, and
You are exalted as head over
all.
Revelation 12:11 teaches us that our
victory is through the blood of Jesus Christ and our testimony, because our
Lord, Who is our Father, has the victory and the honour in the battle for the
souls, for eternity. Let this be our Word in our mouth so that we live everyday
in the Kingdom of God until He comes.
PSALM 22
...27All the ends of the world shall remember and
turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations shall worship before You.28
For the kingdom is the
Lord’s,
and He rules over the nations.
Every
family on earth know or may get to know the Gospel because the Church has been
the Holy Spirit's tool to carry the Gospel to every nation, and this is how we
are living, every day, the Kingdom of God until He comes.
PSALM
103
...19The
Lord has established
His throne in heaven, and
His kingdom rules over all.
20
Bless the
Lord, you His angels,
who
excel in strength, who do
His word, heeding the voice
of His word.21
Bless the
Lord, all you His
hosts,
You ministers of His, who do
His pleasure.
A nation or
country that honours God and
has Yahweh as his Lord and
trusts in divine providence,
who declares with faith that
God is on His Throne in
Heaven and rules over
everyone, and that therefore
they fear God and that "In
God We Trust" as we can read
in the dollar notes, is
obviously superior to the
rest of the nations. This
has been the history of the
United States of America.
This is not to say that it
is an entirely holy nation,
but its constitution,
history following the Bible,
spreading the Gospel and
humanitarian aid,
apart from their sins, is
reflected in examples like
the national day of fast and
prayer established by
Abraham Lincoln. This is a
comment based on the last
page of the chapter about
providence, from the book
"The Good Life" by Chuck
Colson. If we honour God in
our public lives we will
have His blessing every day,
living in the Kingdom
of God until He comes.
DANIEL 4
...3How great are His
signs, and
how mighty His wonders!
His
kingdom is an everlasting
kingdom, and His
dominion is from generation
to generation. ...17
‘This decision is by
the decree of the watchers,
and
the sentence by the word of
the holy ones, in order that
the living may know that
the
Most High rules in the
kingdom of men,
gives it to whomever He
will, and sets over it the
lowest of men.’
God's
signs in life are seen, dreamt and heard by those who seek Him in solitude, in
meditation-thinking with God, every day, living in the Kingdom of God,
until He comes.
MATTHEW 3
...3In those days John the
Baptist came preaching in the
wilderness of Judea,
2and saying, “Repent, for
the
kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
3For this is he who was spoken of
by the prophet Isaiah, saying:
"The voice of one crying in the
wilderness: Prepare the way of
the Lord; make His paths
straight."
Jesus Christ
lives and therefore, as it
happened to Paul, each and every
one of us has His Spirit close
and within us, preparing our Way
for the Lord every day, living
in the Kingdom of God, until He
comes.
MATTHEW 5
...3
Blessed are
the poor in spirit, for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
We are blessed, we are the salt and we are the light. If we work hard in the Spiritual Disciplines and in the Virtue and the Seven Gifts of the Spirit, the oil of the anointing of the love of God will flow from us, and this makes us into Vessels of God so that we offer the sacrifice of praise, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name every day, living in the Kingdom of God, until He comes.
MATTHEW 6
...10Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. ...13 For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Our Father! What a privilege having an audience with our beloved Father any time, any where and in any situation. Do you imagine requesting an audience to speak to the king of your country? You would probably be ignored in the reception. But God embraces us if we want to, because His is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory every day, living in the Kingdom of God until He comes.
MATTHEW 7
...21“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
Let us do the will of the Father who is in Heaven, not just saying Lord, Lord, and that we are Christians. Let our fruits be seen in the Gospel, in the way we treat others and in our works while we live every day in the Kingdom of God, until He comes.
MATTHEW 12
...28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Jesus Christ
certainly is among us through
the
Holy Spirit, and has the same
power to cast out demons as when
He came in flesh, so let us pray
and have faith to cast them out
in His name, while we live
everyday in the Kingdom of God, until He
comes.
MATTHEW 13
...10And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” 11He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
God speaks to us in His Word and in other ways with the same Words, we see His mysteries every day, living in the Kingdom of God, until He comes.
24Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
31Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, 32which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”
36Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” 37He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 40Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
45“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.47“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, 48which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. 49So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, 50and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
Jesus' parables are the best way of understanding the Kingdom of God. While we, the Church, are in this world, we have the challenge to live like He lived every day, living in the Kingdom of God until He comes.
MATTHEW 22
...And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: 2“The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, 3and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. 4Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.”’ 5But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. 6And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. 7But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. 8Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ 10So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11“But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. 12So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 14Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14“For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Let us go out to the streets and call to the wedding all of those who listen to the Gospel, since the merits of salvation are exclusive to Christ. If they receive Him, we must teach them the Spiritual Doctrines for their spiritual growth and to remain in the Body of Christ, every day, living in the Kingdom of God until He comes.
MATTHEW 25
...31“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ 37“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ 41“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’44“Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
One of the most revealing Texts about the character that the Holy Spirit wants to stamp on us the character of love and mercy, the Christian standard par excellence. This is also how we are every day living in the Kingdom of the Love, until He comes.
LUKE 9
...62But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Whoever looks back at his life before Christ, to the life of self-justification, lying to himself, not acknowledging his sins, turns to look back and his soul becomes a pillar or salt, like Lot's wife. But we, who trust God and serve Him from our heart, are every day living in the Kingdom of God, until He comes.
LUKE 16
...16“The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it. 17And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail.
While we announce the Kingdom of God which is the Gospel in full, many practise religions, including some Christian ones that still make the mistake of placing human traditions before the Word of God, being deceived to try and make the effort to enter the Kingdom of God through their own merits. Spiritual Disciplines, good works, Virtue and the Seven Gifts of the Spirit, are not the ones that save us. These are tools to serve God and our neighbour, they are essential in Christian life and to stay in the Path of Salvation which is obtained only and exclusively through Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary for so God loved us. We will bear witness of the Gospel announcing that we are everyday living in the Kingdom of God, until He comes.
LUKE 17
...20Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; 21nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.” 22Then He said to the disciples, “The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23And they will say to you, ‘Look here!’ or ‘Look there!’ Do not go after them or follow them. 24For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day. 25But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 26And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man
Our congregation, Christian community, Christian group, local church, is where we are every day, living in the Kingdom of God until He comes.
LUKE 23
...42Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” 43And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
This is the message of hope and trust from Jesus that, if we were to die today, we will be with Him in Paradise. While we are every day living in the Kingdom of God, until He comes.
JOHN 3
...3Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
This is the key Text of the whole study, because if one is not born again from the Spirit, we do not believe that we can be every day living in the Kingdom of God, until He comes.
JOHN 18
...36Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”
We cannot impose on people that they should believe and follow the Path of faith, because it is not for everyone, but those who do not belong to this world - they belong to Christ - are each and every day living in the Kingdom of God, until He comes.
ACTS 14
...22strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” 23So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
No doubt we all suffer many tribulations, but the Church has grown and this is our crown, for the glory of the Lord, because we are every day, living in the Kingdom of God until He comes.
ROMANS 14
...17for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Let us make justice, have peace and live in the joy of the Holy Spirit, because by doing so we will enjoy living every day in the Kingdom of God, until He comes.
1CORINTHIANS 4
...20For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.
The power or God in His presence is our furnace, where we are transformed when we surrender to Him. This is the theme of another worship song, by Michael Smith, "I Surrender All" from the album "A New Hallelujah". And if we surrender at the feet of Christ, we will trust Him and His spiritual power will flow from our transformed heart every day, living in the Kingdom of God, until He comes.
GALATIANS 5
...18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Since God rescued us from our aimless conduct, which would never allow us to inherit His Kingdom until we were called to faith through the Gospel, it is when we understand that the answer to the main question of our lives has been replied. Yes, God loves each and every one of us to the point that He gave His Son for us. But not only that, He also loves us to the point of worrying about every aspect of our daily lives. "In the Grip of Grace", Max Lucado.
All our efforts to implement and fulfil every Spiritual Discipline and Virtue with the Seven Gifts will be useless for us if we don't understand that they come from the Holy Spirit who is turning us into vessels of honour. It is through the grace of God. The grace of God will take us by the hand to inherit the Kingdom of God when it is universally established, while we bear the fruits of the Spirit in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control for the Lord is Who keeps us in the Way every day, living in the Kingdom of God, until He comes.
2PETER 1
...10Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
This is the end of our trip through spiritual growth that can turn us into adults in Christ, in terms of a list of things that we can do, after understanding that the Lord is Who starts everything, keeps it going and will lead it to a good end, but only if we make every effort from our side. Because this is the only way to respond to His call for salvation, if we are everyday living the Kingdom of God, until He comes.
The Holy Spirit, by Charles Spurgeon, talks about the intercession of the Holy Spirit, of His cry, of the ...groanings which cannot be uttered..., Romans 8:26, in order to make us persevere in holy life everyday in the Kingdom of God, until He comes.
The above Texts have faithfully portrayed the Bible teachings about Spiritual Disciplines, the Virtue and the Seven Gifts of the Spirit, and how to be turned into Vessels of God. The practical result has allowed us to acknowledge in our life that it is possible to follow Jesus Christ's commandments.
These three phases of Christian growth lead us to live the Kingdom of God, and by living it we fulfil the three purposes. Christian life must have an order that comes from God, and this order serves for the purpose of life in our relationship with God, with the other Christians, the church, and with the world. The plan to implement the spiritual doctrines is based on applying them to the objectives which we, as Christians, want to reach and that are inspired on the Lord Jesus Christ. These objectives to achieve, that I have listed in three categories, will have different steps of spiritual growth, and they must emanate from the life of the Holy Spirit from deep inside us, and the importance of understanding how we have been created and how we live is vital to achieve it.
In order to understand how to make it applicable, I refer to two Bible Texts of reference. One is the reply given by Jesus Christ to one of the scribes about the Great Commandment in Mark 12:33, and another one about the composition of man explained by Paul in 1Thessalonians 5:23. Both Texts refer us to our spirit, our soul, with the mind and our body. Based on these four components of man and being a fact that they are from where our life flows in all aspects and to all people, we shall apply to them and to the three objectives the steps of the Spiritual Disciplines.
We have to have our relationship with God with the whole of our being; we have to have our relationship with our brethren with the whole of our being. Once we have understood this premise we can apply it to the Spiritual Disciplines. Finally, it is also vital to understand that the steps must begin first with a deep relationship with God, in order to be a good disciple and a good brother, so that we can also be good Christians in society and the world. This is the only way that disciplines can be focused on the Great Commission, Matthew 28:18-20 and the Golden Rule, Matthew 7:7-12, and it is by starting from the Great Commandment, Matthew 22:37.
CONCLUSION
Remember that you can read another study about the establishment of the Kingdom of God, its characteristics and its coming in The Church, The Kingdom of God on Earth. About the future Kingdom of God, this prophetic Text from Revelation 12: 10Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
We conclude with the guide where Peter talks to us about seven essential steps that can be applied to the Spiritual Disciplines in 2Peter 1. After faith, which is a gift from God, he explains about virtue and others, right through to love. All our being in harmony with the Spirit allows us for our spirit, soul, mind and body to be organized to serve God, the church and others.
The fruit of the Spiritual Disciplines would be a great improvement if adopted in the discipleship of Christians in evangelical churches as mentioned by Rick Warren in his book Purpose Driven Church and the need to prepare pastors better. I have seen this crystal clear that when applying an order of steps and the study of Spiritual Disciplines, even though many are known, must be implemented as way of life, as essential to all the Church, because they provide a different perspective of their importance, a matter that should be done as soon as possible, because having seen the sad result of their absence in many brothers and pastors, it would be a great blessing to the people of God. The plan commanded by Jesus Christ, as once Wesley said is the awakening of the practice of Spiritual Disciplines. Wesley denounced: Primitive Christians said "The soul and the body make a man; The spirit and disciplines make a Christian".
Finally, it is the grace of God that keeps us in the Way without turning aside to the right hand or to the left, furthermore it holds out the hand of mercy and help in repentance and regeneration if we fall. From all disciplines, the most important ones are prayer, fasting, Bible study and time for devotion, worship and solitude with the Lord; this is where the rest flow from in order to love our neighbour: family, church and those who do not know the Lord. He is our example to follow, and His life a Way that we have not yet been able to follow completely, but the disciplines bring us closer and closer through His Spirit.
Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Church. Chapter 17 Turning Attenders into Members. Zondervan, 1995.
John Wesley, Sermons on Several Occasions. New York. Waugh & Mason, 1836.
While we wait for the universal coming of the Kingdom of God that will be established for eternity, in God's Time, when every power and principality of the darkness has been cast into the lake which burns with fire and brimstone forever, when we will live free from the devil and his angels. Until then, let us live in the Kingdom of God in this world, in this body, and this Church that we are, the bride that needs to get dressed for the Weddings of the Lamb. A Kingdom of holy people, of kings and priests for God, His Father. Our faith, our virtue, our disciplines and our love, will be the oil and fuel to keep the lamps lit for love to our neighbour for the glory of our beloved God and Father. I leave you with a brief prayer in Koine Greek, Aramaic and Hebrew, all of them known and base of the lives of the people of the Kingdom of God: Koinonia, Maranatha, Baruj Haba BeShem Adonai. Amen.
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