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  WRITINGS OF JIM FEENEY
  by Jim Feeney
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A collection of theological writings, sermons, and essays by Jim Feeney,
compiled for study and devotional reading.

  Chapters: 7

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  TABLE OF CONTENTS
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    1. 00.00. Titles/Contents
    2. S. Are the Fivefold Ministries for Today?
    3. S. Kingdom of God, Kingdom of Heaven
    4. S. Only One Way to God:
    5. S. Slain In the Spirit” | Holy Laughter | “Falling Out
    6. S. The Mighty Hand of God
    7. S. The Spiritual Gifts of the Holy Spirit Are For Today

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  CHAPTER 1: 00.00. TITLES/CONTENTS
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Feeney, Jim - Library

S. Are the Fivefold Ministries for Today

S. Kingdom of God, Kingdom of Heaven

S. Only One Way to God - Only One Savior, Jesus Christ

S. Slain In the Spirit - Holy Laughter - Falling Out

S. The Mighty Hand of God

S. The Spiritual Gifts of the Holy Spirit Are For Today


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  CHAPTER 2: S. ARE THE FIVEFOLD MINISTRIES FOR TODAY?
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Are the Fivefold Ministries for Today? by Pastor Jim Feeney, Ph.D.

Summary: Has church tradition tricked us into calling almost all ministers
“pastor”? Or should the Church today be benefiting from the five ministries of
contemporary apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers? Is your
pastor truly a biblical “pastor”? Very possibly so. But perhaps not. Sad to say,
the modern Church has largely abandoned the broad-based “fivefold” ministry
gifts of Eph 4:11 — that is, apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and
teachers — and has too often settled for identifying most Christian ministers
simply as “pastor”. But often those “pastors” are more precisely evangelists or
Bible teachers, or even prophets or apostles. My desire in this article is to
show from the Scriptures that all five ministries are biblically valid and
needed today.

Eph 4:11-13 It was he [Jesus, vss. Eph 4:7-10] who gave some to be apostles,
some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and
teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of
Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the
knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of
the fullness of Christ.

•• These three verses are not difficult to understand. They quite clearly
explain how, at the outset, Jesus Christ established five specific, named
ministries to bring His church to full maturity. There is no biblical warrant
for changing Christ’s pattern then to a different one now.

•• Let’s briefly examine these verses, and we will see how they plainly describe
the Lord’s provision for His Church for the entire Church Age. But first a
glance at Eph 4:7-8 to establish the beginnings of a time frame.

Eph 4:7-8 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.
This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and
gave gifts to men.”

•• These two verses establish a context for the fivefold ministry gifts named in
Eph 4:11.

• Those ministries represented a giving of grace by Jesus Christ (Eph 4:7).

• And when did Jesus do this giving? — “When he ascended on high” (Eph 4:8).
While on earth, as recorded in the four Gospels, Jesus gave apostles (12 of
them). But Eph 4:1-32 tells us that, after His resurrection and ascension to
heaven, Jesus broadened that apportionment of His grace by giving the Church not
only additional apostles, but also prophets, evangelists, pastors, and Bible
teachers. We see many instances of these ministries represented by named men in
the Book of Acts, subsequent to Jesus’ ascension to heaven.

• apostles (Acts 14:14; see also 1Th 1:1 with 1Th 2:6) • prophets (Acts
11:27-28; Acts 13:1; Acts 15:32) • evangelists (Acts 21:8; see also 2Ti 4:5) •
pastors (not named, but clearly given in Eph 4:11) • teachers (Acts 13:1; see
also 1Ti 2:7)

• The relevant point in Eph 4:7-8 is that Jesus was not content just to give the
original twelve apostles. Upon His return to heaven, He continued to give His
Church many and varied ministries — here specifically, additional apostles, as
well as prophets, evangelists, pastors, and Bible teachers. There is no biblical
support, nor is there logical reason, to change or discontinue the pattern that
Jesus established for ministry in His Church. We will prove that point further
from the Scriptures below.

Eph 4:11-12 [Jesus gave] apostles ... prophets ... evangelists ... pastors ...
teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of
Christ may be built up.

Eph 4:12, KJV — “for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the
ministry...”

Eph 4:12, Amplified — “His intention was the perfecting and full equipping of
the saints (His consecrated people), [that they should do] the work of
ministering toward building up Christ’s body (the church).”

•• Are the saints (God’s people) perfected yet? No? Then we today need all five
ministries, which are given for this purpose.

•• Are the saints “fully equipped” to do the work of the ministry? Is the “work
of the ministry” completed? Not yet? Then we today still need all five
ministries to fully equip us for this noble work.

•• Is Christ’s body, the Church, fully “built up”? Certainly not. Until it is,
we need all the fivefold ministries to help us fulfill this heaven-ordained
purpose.

Eph 4:11, Eph 4:13 [The five ministries were given, Eph 4:11] ...until we all
reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become
mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

•• All five ministries are to have their expression to and impact upon the body
of Christ “UNTIL”:

• we all reach unity in the faith • we all reach unity in the knowledge of the
Son of God • we become mature (King James: “a perfect man”) • we attain the
whole measure of the fullness of Christ

•• I have never met a Christian who believes that the body of Christ has yet
achieved the four goals listed above. Until that day comes, we need all five of
the Eph 4:11 ministries. They are Christ’s provisions to lead His Church towards
these noble goals.

Among those who deny the present-day validity of the five ministries, the
objections are not to pastors, and generally not to evangelists and teachers.
Usually the stumbling block is contemporary apostles and prophets. Yet there is
no biblical support for dividing these ministries, as is often done, into two
groups — evangelists, pastors, and teachers for today, but apostles and prophets
only for the early Church.

•• All five are needed to equip the Lord’s people in every century of the Church
Age.

•• All five are needed to bring the Church to unity and maturity.

•• All five are needed to bring us — you and me — to the “whole measure of the
fullness of Christ”.

•• May the Church today move past erroneous traditions and teachings and once
again embrace the gracious provision of Jesus Christ to His Church for the
entire Church Age — that is, God-called, Spirit-anointed apostles, prophets,
evangelists, pastors, and teachers.


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  CHAPTER 3: S. KINGDOM OF GOD, KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
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Kingdom of God, Kingdom of Heaven Bible Study Notes by Pastor Jim Feeney, Ph.D.

These are bible study notes that I compiled during an extensive study of the
kingdom of God/kingdom of heaven over the course of several months. They are
offered in their present format for those bible students who will look past the
outline structure to find an in-depth study of this great bible theme.

Mat 3:1-2 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea
and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

•• John the Baptist announced the nearness of the kingdom of heaven.

• The nearness of the kingdom was given as a motive for repentance - “Repent,
for the kingdom...”

Mat 4:17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of
heaven is near.”

•• Interesting. Jesus’ first public messages emphasized the same theme as John
the Baptist’s - that is, the nearness of the kingdom of heaven.

• And again, the urgency of repentance in light of the nearness of kingdom of
heaven.

Mat 4:23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching
the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the
people.

•• Jesus preached the “gospel of the kingdom” (KJV). NIV calls it “the good news
of the kingdom.”

•• Divine healing seems to be associated with the kingdom. That is good news
indeed!

• In fact, supernatural healings would seem to confirm that God’s kingdom was
functioning in Jesus on earth.

Mat 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

•• The kingdom of heaven is for the “poor in spirit.”

•• Expositor’s Bible Commentary: “To be poor in spirit is not to lack courage
but to acknowledge spiritual bankruptcy. It confesses one’s unworthiness before
God and utter dependence on him.”

•• An interesting point: the first and last beatitudes (Mat 5:3 and Mat 5:10)
are the ones that mention the kingdom. In those two verses, it reads: “theirs IS
the kingdom.” In the other beatitudes, which don’t mention the kingdom, the verb
tense is “WILL be ... WILL inherit”, etc. Matthew’s deliberate (and inspired)
choice of the present tense, not the future, makes a point about the present
sense of the kingdom in this context.

• To the poor in spirit (Mat 5:33) and those persecuted because of righteousness
(Mat 5:10), Jesus says, “[Yours] IS the kingdom” -- not “will be” as in the
other beatitude promises.

Mat 5:10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

•• The kingdom of heaven is for “those who are persecuted because of
righteousness.” For the time frame (“theirs is”), see notes on Mat 5:3 above.

Mat 5:19-20 Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches
others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever
practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of
heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the
Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom
of heaven.

•• We will be “called least ... [or] called great in the kingdom of heaven”
based upon whether ...

1) we break God’s commands and teach others to do so, or...

2) we practice God’s commands and teach them to others.

•• Interesting - the breaker and the keeper of God’s commands are BOTH said to
be “IN the kingdom.” But the breaker is called “least in the kingdom” and the
keeper is called “great in the kingdom.” But both are called “IN the kingdom.”

• The one who broke “the least” commandment (19) is still included “IN the
kingdom,” but is himself “called least in the kingdom.” But still “IN.”

• Conclusion: the saved person, who is “in the kingdom” but is breaking some of
God’s commandments is still “IN” the kingdom.

•• The previous paragraph seems to support GRADATION WITHIN the kingdom ranks,
not inclusion versus exclusion from the kingdom. Other instances of this
gradation-within versus inclusion-exclusion:

• Mat 11:11 - “...he who is least in the kingdom Is greater than [John the
Baptist].” Again, suggesting ranks within the kingdom.

• Mat 20:20-23 - The mother of Zebedee’s sons asked Jesus for special places “in
[Christ’s] kingdom” for her two sons. Jesus did not deny that there were special
places in the kingdom, replying to her, “These places belong to those for whom
they have been prepared by my Father.”

•• (Mat 5:20) A person will “certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven” unless
his “righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees.” Pharisaical “righteousness”
was an external thing, based on their outward appearance of following the Law.
New Testament righteousness is an internal thing, an issue of repentance, faith,
and grace.

• The implication is that those who do receive the New Testament free gift of
God’s righteousness by grace through faith do indeed “enter the kingdom of
heaven (Mat 5:20).”

Mat 6:9-10 “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed
be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’
”

•• The kingdom is an issue for fervent prayer.

•• “Your kingdom come” - to be prayed by all Christians throughout the Church
Age - suggests that the fullness of the kingdom is yet future.

Mat 6:31-33 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we
drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and
your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and
his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

•• The kingdom of God seems here to be contrasted with the earthly pursuits of
food, drink, and clothing.

•• Jesus gives the kingdom its rightful priority - “Seek ye first the kingdom of
God” (KJV) •• The kingdom is linked with “[God’s] righteousness”. They are both
to be sought.

•• “His [God’s] righteousness” - which we are commanded to seek - could be
interpreted at least two ways:

1) “His” (apparently in contrast to “ours”) may suggest the imputed
righteousness of God, attained by faith. Or...

2) It may refer to “righteous acts” (as in Rev 19:8, NIV). In this
interpretation Jesus would be encouraging a level of righteous living, as in Eph
4:24 in its surrounding context - “...put on the new self, created to be like
God in true righteousness and holiness.” The immediate context in Eph 4:1-32 is
righteous deeds, righteous living.

Mat 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom
of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many
will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and
in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them
plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

•• Neither man’s words (“Lord, Lord!”) nor his claim to spiritual gifts
(prophecy, exorcisms, miracles) will gain him entrance into the kingdom of
heaven. No, entrance to the kingdom is “only” for those who “do the will of [God
the] Father” as opposed to “you EVILDOERS.”

• Notice that Jesus says, “I never knew you,” strongly suggesting that they were
never born again.

• Note also that Jesus did not necessarily agree that they had prophesied or
cast out demons. He simply said that “many will SAY...” to Him that they had
done these things in His name.

Mat 8:11-12 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and
will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom
of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the
darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

•• The “feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven” is clearly
a yet-future sense of the kingdom. It suggests to me an experience after Jesus’
Second Coming.

•• The context is (Mat 8:5-10) Gentiles entering the kingdom by faith in Jesus
(Mat 8:10, the Gentile centurion) in contrast to the Israelites(KJV: “the
children of the kingdom”) being excluded for their refusal to believe in Jesus.

•• Two groups appear here - (1) believing Gentiles in the kingdom and (2)
unbelieving Jews being “thrown outside [of the kingdom], into the darkness.”

Mat 9:35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their
synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and
sickness.

•• Like Mat 4:23 - Jesus is seen “teaching ... preaching the good news of the
kingdom and healing...” Again, healing is associated with the kingdom.

Mat 10:7-8 As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ Heal
the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons.
Freely you have received, freely give.

•• Once more, as with Jesus and John the Baptist, the message is: “The kingdom
of heaven is near.”

•• Some manifestations associated with the kingdom are: “Heal the sick, cleanse
the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils” [KJV]. We are beginning to see a
repeating pattern of the demonstration of God’s power being linked to His
kingdom.

Mat 11:11-12 I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen
anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of
heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the
kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of
it.

•• Jesus certified that no one had yet lived who was greater than John the
Baptist. Nevertheless, “he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than
he.” The “least” citizen of God’s kingdom is greater than the greatest citizen
of earthly kingdoms.

•• Don’t take a passive approach to this great theme of the kingdom of God. No!
You must forcefully lay hold of it. You must press in to it. It is worthy of all
your efforts to “lay hold” of God’s kingdom.

• Note: some commentators disagree with the above and believe that the “forceful
men” are enemies of the kingdom - e.g., King Herod, antagonistic Jewish leaders,
even demon spirits.

Mat 12:28 But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of
God has come upon you.

•• Once again, God’s power - here, in the exorcism of demons - is spoken of by
Jesus as something that points to the presence in their midst of God’s kingdom.

• Here the powerful operation of the Holy Spirit is given as an evidence of the
presence of the kingdom of God.

Mat 13:10-16 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the
people in parables?” He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of
heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more,
and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be
taken from him. This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do
not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled
the prophecy of Isaiah: “‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you
will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become
calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with
their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes because
they see, and your ears because they hear.

•• Some just hear the parables, the stories. Others hear and understand “the
secrets of the kingdom of heaven.”

•• Jesus tells us why some hear but don’t understand, see but don’t perceive
(Mat 13:14). Jesus says it is because “this people’s HEART has become calloused”
(Mat 13:15).

•• “Calloused heart”? You will not know the “secrets of the kingdom of heaven.”
By implication, the secrets will be known by those with sincere, obedient,
God-seeking hearts.

•• “The secrets of the kingdom” (Mat 13:11) - The Expositor’s Bible Commentary
has an interesting note: “ ‘The mystery of the kingdom is the coming of the
kingdom into history in advance of its apocalyptic manifestation’ ... That God
would bring in His kingdom was no secret. All Jews looked forward to it. ‘The
new truth, now given to men by revelation in the person and mission of Jesus, is
that the kingdom which is to come finally in apocalyptic power, as foreseen by
Daniel, has in fact entered into the world in advance in a hidden form to work
secretly within and among men.” [bold type mine]

Mat 13:18-23 Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone
hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one
comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along
the path. The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who
hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he
lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word,
he quickly falls away. The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns
is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the
deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. But the one who received
the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands
it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.

•• (Mat 13:19) It is apparent that Jesus expects us to minister in such a way
that people “hear the message about the kingdom.”

•• For several listed reasons, the “message about the kingdom” doesn’t bear
fruit in the hearer:

(1) He doesn’t understand it, and the devil snatches it away from him.

(2) Trouble or persecution cause him to fall away.

(3) The message of the kingdom is choked by the worries of this life and the
deceitfulness of wealth.

•• Those who hear and understand the kingdom message bear a crop - 100-, 60-, or
30-fold.

•• Central to this portion of Scripture is the fact that “the message about the
kingdom” receives a varied reception among different people.

•• (Mat 13:19) God intends that “the message about the kingdom ... [be] sown in
one’s heart.” The heart is where the kingdom will or will not be treasured.

• Similarly, the parallel in Luk 8:15 says that those who “produce a crop” are
those who hear and retain the word of the kingdom “in a noble and good heart.”

•• The “message about the kingdom” (Mat 13:19) must also be understood (Mat
13:23). Then it will yield an abundant crop.

Mat 13:24-30 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a
man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy
came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and
formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. The owner’s servants came to him and
said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds
come from?’ “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you
want us to go and pull them up?’ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are
pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together
until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the
weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it
into my barn.’”

Mat 13:36-43 ...“Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” He
answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the
world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the
sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is
the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. As the weeds are pulled up
and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will
send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that
causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine
like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

•• This is a kingdom parable - (Mat 13:24) “The kingdom of heaven is like...”

•• Jesus seeks to grow the kingdom of heaven by sowing good seed(i.e., people,
“the sons of the kingdom”) in the world.

•• The devil tries to thwart kingdom growth by sowing his people(“the sons of
the evil one”) among the good seed.

•• Jesus will leave his mixture of God’s people and the devil’s people together
until the “end of the age.”

•• Then He will have the angels harvest the world - casting the “weeds ... into
the fiery furnace.” And the “good-seed” people of the kingdom will “shine like
the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”

•• In this Church Age the kingdom people (“good seed”) and the devil’s people
(“weeds”) live mixed together. At the “end of the age” they will be divided.

•• Here the division is clearly between two categories - 1) “the good seed ...
the sons of the kingdom” and 2) “the weeds ... the sons of the evil one.”

• In this parable, the in-the-kingdom versus out-of-the-kingdom division is
clearly between the saved and the lost (“sons of the evil one”).

•• Remember, “kingdom” and “church” are not synonyms. This parable is not
talking about good and evil people in the church, but rather in the broader
kingdom of God on earth. Recall that Jesus said (Mat 13:3) that “the field is
the world,” not the church. The world is the context of this kingdom parable.

• The kingdom-field, which is the world, is bigger than, not equal to or smaller
than, the church.

• A related thought - that the “field is the world” is proof positive that the
kingdom from the outset was intended to include Gentiles as well as Jews.

Mat 13:31-32 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a
mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the
smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden
plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its
branches.”

•• The kingdom of heaven started seemingly small. As earlier verses said, it
came into direct proximity to men and women with Jesus’ coming to earth.

•• The kingdom is to be “planted.” It starts small, it grows, and it becomes
large.

•• It provides a safe roost for the birds of the air.

Mat 13:33 He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like
yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked
all through the dough.”

•• Again, the kingdom has seemingly small beginnings - typified by the small
volume of yeast.

•• But when “mixed” into this world, it will eventually “work through all the
dough.”

Mat 13:44 The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man
found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and
bought that field.

•• The kingdom of heaven is like a “treasure.”

• Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Mat
6:21). Man’s treasure and his heart will be collocated.

•• The kingdom of heaven is to be treasured above all other treasures.

• Jesus said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God...”(Mat 6:33, KJV).

• He expects us to “sell out” all else in pursuit of His kingdom.

Mat 13:45-46 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine
pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he
had and bought it.

•• This is similar to the “treasure” kingdom parable.

• The kingdom is “of great value.”

• It is worth selling everything to acquire it.

Mat 13:47-50 Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down
into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen
pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in
baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age.
The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them
into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

•• This kingdom parable leads right up to the Second Coming of Christ - [Mat
13:49] “the end of the age.”

•• The kingdom net became “full” with two groups:

(1) the “good fish” - “collected...in baskets”

(2) the “bad fish” - thrown away

•• At the end of the age, apparently not before, the angels will separate these
two groups, here [Mat 13:49] called “the wicked” and “the righteous.”

•• “The wicked” will be thrown “into the fiery furnace, where there will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

• It is important to bear in mind here that Jesus has “delivered us from the
wrath to come” (1Th 1:10). It would seem necessary to identify the “bad ...
wicked” people of this kingdom parable as lost (unsaved) people. For all the
redeemed have been delivered by Jesus from “the wrath to come,” which would
surely include a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth like the “fiery
furnace.”

• Further, in Mat 13:50 of this kingdom parable, the “wicked” are thrown “into
the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” This
identical phrase is used in Mat 13:42, the parable of the weeds, to show the
destination of “the sons of the evil one” (Mat 13:38).

# Key point: These who end up weeping and gnashing their teeth in the fiery
furnace are not believers who missed out on the kingdom, but are “sons of the
evil one (Mat 13:38) ... the bad (Mat 13:48) ... the wicked (Mat 13:49).”

# The “all who do evil” who are “weed[ed] out of His kingdom” (Mat 13:41) are
the lost, the unsaved, the “SONS OF THE EVIL ONE (Mat 13:38) ... THEBAD (Mat
13:48) ... THE WICKED (Mat 13:49).” It is they who will end up “in the fiery
furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Mat 13:51-52 “Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked. “Yes,” they
replied. He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has been
instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings
out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”

•• There are numerous, often conflicting opinions among commentators about the
meaning of these verses. I can’t resolve those. But some clear points emerge.

•• Jesus wants us to “understand” kingdom principles.

•• the precise identity in context of the “teacher of the law” is variously
interpreted. But there is a clear, key point:

• The one “instructed about the kingdom of heaven” is expected to bring forth
new treasures and old.

• This may refer to the greater understanding of God’s kingdom that the New
Testament adds to the sparser teaching of the kingdom in the Old Testament.

• One point is clear: only Christian believers can teach “new treasures as well
as old.” The unbelieving, Jewish teacher of the Law can only teach “the old.”

Mat 16:18-19 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my
church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of
the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and
whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

•• The “building [of the] church” and the kingdom of heaven here seem to be
associated.

• The church is people. The kingdom has to do with ruling, with reigning.

•• There is binding and loosing authority given to leaders (such as Peter) in
God’s kingdom.

• (see note above) We see God’s people (the church) reigning (the kingdom).

Mat 16:27-28 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his
angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. I
tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they
see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.

•• The two verses taken together seem to indicate that at the Second Coming
Jesus will “come in His kingdom.”

•• That might suggest a final, realized fullness of the kingdom at His Second
Coming.

• Jesus had already said at His First Coming that “the kingdom of heaven is at
hand” (Mat 4:17, KJV).

• Yet He also told us (Mat 6:10, KJV) to pray, “Thy kingdom come,” indicating
that there were aspects of the kingdom not yet realized at His First Coming.

•• There are numerous, often conflicting, interpretations of the meaning of
those who will “not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in His
kingdom.”

• At present, I have no definitive understanding of this phrase.

Mat 18:1-4 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the
greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child and had him stand
among them. And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become
like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore,
whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of
heaven.

•• Interesting - Jesus did imply (Mat 18:4) that there is such a thing as
degrees of greatness in the kingdom.

• Remember, Jesus has already said in Mat 5:19 that there are those who “will be
called least in the kingdom of heaven” and those who “will be called great in
the kingdom of heaven.”

•• Humility (Mat 18:4) is needed for “greatness” in the kingdom.

•• “Change” (Mat 18:3) is needed to enter the kingdom.

• “...never enter”! (Mat 18:3) - The person who does not “change and become like
little children will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

• Does this change-to-enter requirement refer to the changes associated with
getting saved? Or does it refer to changes subsequent to getting saved?

• The King James phrase “except ye be converted” may suggest initial salvation.

Mat 18:23-35 Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to
settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed
him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the
master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold
to repay the debt. The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with
me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity
on him, canceled the debt and let him go. But when that servant went out, he
found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him
and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. His fellow
servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay
you back.’ But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into
prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had
happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything
that had happened. Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’
he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t
you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his
master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back
all he owed. This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you
forgive your brother from your heart.”

•• The essential message of this kingdom parable is our forgiving the brother
who is indebted to us just as God has forgiven us our indebtedness.

Mat 19:12 For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made
that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of
heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.

•• The previous context is celibacy versus marriage.

•• The renunciation of marriage - by those “to whom it has been given” (Mat
19:11) - is seen as a positive choice in seeking the kingdom of heaven.

Mat 19:14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder
them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

•• “...belongs to such as these” - Little children are an example of traits
expected in those to whom the kingdom “belongs.”

• What those traits are is the subject of much commentary. Some suggestions are:
humility, simple faith, and teachableness.

Mat 19:16-17; Mat 19:21-26 Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what
good thing must I do to get eternal life?” Why do you ask me about what is
good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life,
obey the commandments.” ... Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell
your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because
he had great wealth. Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it
is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is
easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to
enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly
astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said,
“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

•• Interesting ... Jesus answered, “If you want to enter life, obey the
commandments.” The context was the rich man’s question: “What good thing must I
do to get eternal life?”

•• In Mat 19:20, the man asked, “What do I still lack?” in the context of what
he needed to do to enter life. That context is important, because neither his
question nor Jesus’ answer (Mat 19:21) were speaking of Christian perfection,
but of what he still lacked to enter life.

• Jesus (Mat 19:21) identified the rich young man’s specific problem as his
unwillingness to part with his wealth.

• That may or may not be someone else’s “lack.”

•• (Mat 19:23) Jesus said, “It is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of
heaven.” Not impossible, but hard.

• The reason probably lies in the truth of Jesus’ words elsewhere that one
“cannot serve God and Mammon. ”We can serve only one master - God or possessions
- but not both.

•• An important insight is seen here. A careful reading of the contextual flow
of Mat 19:16-24 seems to show Jesus using the phrases “enter life” (Mat 19:17)
and “enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mat 19:23) as meaning the SAME thing.

• To “enter life” in this Scripture portion means to “enter the kingdom of
heaven.”

•• Mat 19:23-24 taken together are clear proof that the Bible terms “kingdom of
heaven” and “kingdom of God” mean the same thing.

•• The question in Mat 19:25 - “Who then can be saved?” - is asked in the
context of “entering” the kingdom of heaven/God. The disciples (Mat 19:25)
seemed to understand Jesus’ teaching to be indicating an equivalence between
getting/entering eternal life (Mat 19:16-17), entering the kingdom (Mat
19:23-24), and being saved (Mat 19:25). That is, entering eternal life =
entering the kingdom = being saved.

Mat 20:1-16 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in
the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a
denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. About the third hour he
went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them,
‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So
they went. “He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did
the same thing. About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others
standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long
doing nothing?’ ‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. He said to them,
‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’ When evening came, the owner of the
vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages,
beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’ The workers who
were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. So when
those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of
them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble
against the landowner. ‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’
they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the
work and the heat of the day.’ But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not
being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and
go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I
have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I
am generous?’ So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

•• This kingdom parable reveals kingdom principles:

• We don’t “deserve” our rewards based on the amount of work we have done.

• The corollary idea is that the pay was distributed not by merit, but by free
grace.

• Another kingdom principle clearly seen is the absolute sovereignty of the
landowner (God).

• An overriding thought in Mat 20:1-16 parable is that rewards in the kingdom
are not by works but by grace!

Mat 20:20-23 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and,
kneeling down, asked a favor of him. “What is it you want?” he asked. She said,
“Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at
your left in your kingdom.” “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to
them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right
or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have
been prepared by my Father.”

•• Mat 20:22 says “...in your kingdom.” The parallel in Mark 10:37 reads“...in
your glory.” This parable is clearly referring to the visible kingdom
established at Christ’s Second Coming.

•• The disciples’ and their mother’s error was in their wrong belief that status
and position mattered in the kingdom of heaven.

Mat 21:28-32 “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to
the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ ‘I will not,’ he
answered, but later he changed his mind and went. Then the father went to the
other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not
go. Which of the two did what his father wanted?” “The first,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the
prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you
to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax
collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not
repent and believe him.

•• In this kingdom parable the key was doing what his father wanted, which
required repentance.

•• In context this parable is spoken as a rebuke to the Jewish religious leaders
(Mat 21:23).

• Mat 21:45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they
knew he was talking about them.

• The Jewish leaders professed to obey God (Mat 21:30), but did not.

• The harlots and publicans (Mat 21:31) at first (in their lives and conduct)
did not obey God, but later repented.

• Result? The repentant ones entered the kingdom “ahead of” the disobedient
leaders.

•• The required repentance (Mat 21:32) was related to “the way of
righteousness.”

Mat 21:33-45 Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a
vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower.
Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. When the
harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his
fruit. The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and
stoned a third. Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time,
and the tenants treated them the same way. Last of all, he sent his son to them.
‘They will respect my son,’ he said. But when the tenants saw the son, they said
to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his
inheritance.’ So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those
tenants?” “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and
he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the
crop at harvest time.” Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the
Scriptures: “‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord
has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? Therefore I tell you that the
kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will
produce its fruit. He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he
on whom it falls will be crushed.” When the chief priests and the Pharisees
heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them.

•• Mat 21:45 makes it clear that in this kingdom parable Jesus was talking about
“the chief priests and the Pharisees.” In context, the Jewish leaders who
rejected Jesus.

•• The result of their rejection of Him? - “the kingdom of God will be taken
away from [them]...”

• So in some sense they had had a claim to the kingdom in order for it to be
“taken away” from them.

• One commentary (and perhaps others?) suggests that this taking away of the
kingdom from them was God’s removing from them of their Old Covenant privilege
of mediating God’s authority on earth among the chosen nation of Israel.

•• (Mat 21:43) “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away
from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.”

• Those to whom the kingdom is given are expected to produce fruit (“its” refers
to “the kingdom”). So there will be discernible evidence in the lives of people
in the kingdom of God.

Mat 22:1-14 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: “The kingdom of
heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his
servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but
they refused to come. Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who
have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle
have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’ But
they paid no attention and went off - one to his field, another to his business.
The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was
enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited
did not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet
anyone you find.’ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the
people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with
guests. But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who
was not wearing wedding clothes. ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here
without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless. Then the king told the
attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are invited, but
few are chosen.”

•• Very important! - This cannot refer to a wedding banquet either (Mat 22:1) in
heaven or (Mat 22:2) after the Lord’s Second Coming. In those two scenarios
there could not be:

• refusal to come (Mat 22:3) • paying no attention and going off (Mat 22:5) •
those invited killing the master’s servants (Mat 22:6)

•• No, to the contrary, whatever this wedding banquet precisely is, it must
occur while men and women are still on earth with the ability to refuse or to
disregard the Lord, or to kill His servants.

• “(Mat 22:8) The wedding banquet IS ready ... (Mat 22:4) everything IS ready.
Come to the wedding banquet.” This is a wedding contemporary with a time when
men and women can still refuse and disregard the Lord.

•• The invitation of people “both good and bad” (Mat 22:9-10) to attend the
banquet again places this banquet in a time frame when the “good and bad” are
still mixed together - that is, the Church Age, not the Millennium or later.

Mat 23:13 Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You
shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will
you let those enter who are trying to.

•• The Jewish leaders themselves were not entering the kingdom of heaven. And
they were preventing others from entering. How?

• The answer probably lies in Mat 22:41-46 in context with the woes of Mat
23:1-39 - that is, in their failure to see Jesus as the Christ.

• If so, the shutting out of and entering into the kingdom depend upon proper
recognition of Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah.

Mat 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as
a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

•• The kingdom message is indeed “good news.”

Mat 25:1-12 At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took
their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and
five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with
them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom
was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At
midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ Then
all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the
wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ ‘No,’ they replied,
‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil
and buy some for yourselves.’ But while they were on their way to buy the oil,
the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the
wedding banquet. And the door was shut. Later the others also came. ‘Sir! Sir!’
they said. ‘Open the door for us!’ But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I
don’t know you.’

•• This kingdom parable has numerous interpretations among Bible scholars. Two
themes stand out to me.

(1) “The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet.” (Mat
25:10) Those not ready did not go into the wedding banquet.

(2) The one major difference between the wise and the foolish was, respectively,
an abundant or a minimal supply of oil. The required readiness seemed to be
linked to their supply of oil. Oil in the Bible is often, if not universally, a
symbol of the Holy Spirit. If oil = the Holy Spirit, note that all ten had oil.
The difference was in the abundance of oil or paucity thereof.

Mat 25:31-46 When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with
him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be
gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a
shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right
and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come,
you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared
for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me
something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a
stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick
and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ Then the
righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or
thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and
invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in
prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth,
whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for
me.’ Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed,
into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry
and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,
I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not
clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ They also
will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or
needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ He will reply, ‘I
tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you
did not do for me.’ Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the
righteous to eternal life.”

•• The time frame is Jesus’ Second Coming (Mat 25:31). At that time He makes a
separation of the people of earth (Mat 25:32).

• Those whom He calls “cursed” He sends into “eternal fire” (Mat 25:41).

• Those whom He calls “blessed” are told to “take [their] inheritance, the
kingdom” (Mat 25:34). The wording makes it clear that this is not the present,
invisible “kingdom” that is “within” us (Luk 17:21). Rather, this is the
visible, eternal kingdom, and here at the precise time of Christ’s Second
Coming, the redeemed are told to “take your inheritance, the kingdom.”

•• Note that the “eternal fire” (Mat 25:41) punishment (Mat 25:46) of the lost,
the “cursed,” the “goats,” is just as “eternal” as is the “eternal life” of the
righteous (Mat 25:46). Both instances of “eternal” in this verse are the same
Greek word.

• Those who inherit the kingdom inherit it eternally.

• Those who do not inherit the kingdom are excluded from it in punishment in
fire that lasts eternally.

• Christ’s teaching here leaves no room for a temporary place of purging fire
for the redeemed - such as the Catholic Purgatory - prior to entering the Lord’s
presence for eternity. No, but rather Christ gives us only two alternatives:

1) eternal inheritance of the kingdom for the “sheep, ”the “blessed,” “the
righteous” (Mat 25:46), or...

2) eternal punishment (Mat 25:46) in eternal fire (Mat 25:41) for the “cursed,”
the “goats.”

Mat 26:27-29 Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying,
“Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured
out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink of this
fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my
Father’s kingdom.”

•• The Lord’s Supper, among other truths, points ahead to the coming kingdom.

•• 1Co 11:26 declares: “Whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you
proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”

• This verse, coupled with our Matthew text, tells us that we, Christ’s
disciples, will celebrate communion throughout this Church Age, but Jesus will
not celebrate it with us “until He comes.” His coming, then, seems to be equated
(Mat 26:29) with the visible establishment of His “Father’s kingdom.”

Mark 1:14-15 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming
the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near.
Repent and believe the good news!”

•• In the Mat 4:17 parallel the themes of repentance and the nearness of the
kingdom are declared by Jesus.

• In Mark’s account Jesus is seen also to emphasize faith towards the kingdom
message - “Repent and believe...”

Mark 4:10-13 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him
about the parables. He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been
given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so
that, ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never
understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’” Then Jesus said to
them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any
parable?”

•• See notes on Mat 13:10-16.

•• (Mark 4:13) “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand
any parable?” This is interpreted by some as Jesus making this the key, central
parable to understanding all others. Perhaps, but another quite plausible
interpretation is offered in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: “There is a
slight rebuke in Jesus’ statement. The implication is that the meaning of the
parable of the sower was clear and understandable. If the disciples could not
understand this clear parable, how could they understand more obscure ones?”

Mark 4:26-29 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man
scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the
seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil
produces grain - first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the
head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the
harvest has come.”

•• Follow the agricultural process - first, the sowing of seed in the ground ...
then a quiet, invisible period of no discernible growth ... then the seed
sprouts and grows ... finally it matures and is harvested.

•• “This is what the kingdom of God is like” - • It starts with the sowing of
seed. Other parables show that “seed” can refer to:

• people, “the sons of the kingdom” (Mat 13:38), or • the “word of God” (Luk
8:11) • So the kingdom of God involves God’s word and God’s people being “sown”
in the world.

•• “This is what the kingdom of God is like” -

• It has quiet, invisible beginnings (like the seed in the earth), followed by
growth unto maturity, leading to a harvest.

Mark 4:30-32 Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or
what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is
the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and
becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds
of the air can perch in its shade.”

•• See comments on parallel in Mat 13:31-32.

Mark 9:1 And he said to them, “I tell you the truth, some who are standing here
will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.”

•• See comments on the parallel in Mat 16:27-28.

•• Note one difference - in the Matthew account it reads “will not taste death
before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. ”In Mark’s account it
reads “will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.”

• So in both accounts it is made clear that some of them would not taste death
before some powerful “coming” of Jesus and His kingdom. This kingdom “coming”
must have already occurred from our perspective in time, since all His listeners
are now dead. Diverse interpretations of this passage abound!

Mark 9:43-48 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to
enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes
out. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to
enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your
eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom
of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where ‘their
worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’

•• A careful reading of the parallel Mark 9:45 and Mark 9:47 will show that the
phrases “enter life” and “enter the kingdom of God” mean one and the same thing.

•• The opposite of entering life (Mark 9:45) is being “thrown into hell
[Gehenna].” The opposite of entering the kingdom of God (Mark 9:47) is exactly
the same - that is, being “thrown into hell [Gehenna].”

•• The parallelism of Mark 9:45, Mark 9:47 leads to this conclusion:

• We will enter “life/the kingdom of God” OR we will be thrown into
“hell/Gehenna.”

• Entering the kingdom and entering life mean the same thing. The alternative is
being thrown into hell.

• We either enter eternal life [Mark 9:45] ( = entering the kingdom of God [Mark
9:47]) or we enter eternal punishment- (Mat 25:46 “Then they will go away to
eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life”).

• Mat 19:16-24 displays this same use of the phrases “enter life” and “enter the
kingdom of heaven/God” as synonymous. To “ENTER” life is to “ENTER” the kingdom.

Mark 10:13-15 People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch
them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He
said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for
the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who
will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

•• See comments on the parallel in Mat 19:14.

•• An interesting note: in the parallel passage in Luk 18:15, the “people were
... bringing babies...”

•• The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (p. 713) has an interesting comment: “The
point of comparison is not so much the innocence and humility of children (for
children are not invariably either innocent or humble): it is rather the fact
that children are unselfconscious, receptive, and content to be dependent on
others’ care and bounty; it is in such a spirit that the kingdom of God must be
‘received’ - it is a gift of God, and not an achievement on the part of man; it
must be simply accepted, inasmuch as it can never be deserved.”

Mark 10:22-25 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had
great wealth. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for
the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” The disciples were amazed at his words.
But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It
is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to
enter the kingdom of God.”

•• See comments on the parallel in Mat 19:16-24.

Mark 10:25-26 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than
for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” The disciples were even more
amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”

•• The disciples’ response is interesting - they equated entering the kingdom
(Mark 10:25) with “being saved” (Mark 10:26).

Mark 12:32-34 a “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying
that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart,
with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your
neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far
from the kingdom of God.”

•• The teacher of the Law had penetrated through the 600+ commands of the Law to
discern the most important one - to love God with all that is in us.

• Jesus commended him for his insight by saying that he was “not far from the
kingdom of God.”

Mark 14:24-25 “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,”
he said to them. “I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of
the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God.”

•• Clearly referring to a future sense of the coming of the kingdom of God.

Mark 15:43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was
himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for
Jesus’ body.

•• Even honorable pre-new-birth Jews understood that there was a coming kingdom
of God. They were anticipating it and “waiting for” it.

Luk 1:31-33 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give
him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most
High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will
reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.

•• It is “his [Christ’s] kingdom.”

•• It will be a never-ending kingdom.

•• The kingdom has to do with Jesus Christ reigning (Luk 1:33).

• The kingdom is not a physical place, but a realm of the sovereign rule of
Christ.

• That the kingdom is not a physical place is clear in Jesus’ words: (Luk
17:20-21) “The kingdom of God does not come visibly, nor will people say, ‘Here
it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”

• This verse from Luk 20:1-47, along with the declaration in Luk 1:33 above that
Christ will “reign...[in] His kingdom” again affirm that the kingdom is a matter
of reign, not of location.

Luk 4:42-43 At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were
looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from
leaving them. But he said, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to
the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.”

•• Jesus declares that “why [He] was sent” was to “preach the good news of the
kingdom of God.”

Luk 6:20 Looking at his disciples, he said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for
yours is the kingdom of God.”

•• Here the kingdom is said to be for the “poor.” In the Mat 5:3 parallel the
kingdom is said to be for the "poor in spirit.”

• In either case, the poverty suggests a dependency on God.

•• Again here, as in Matthew’s account, Jesus used the present tense - “yours IS
the kingdom...”

Luk 7:28 I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than
John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

•• Remember, John the Baptist came in advance of the kingdom of God - (Luk
16:16) “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time,
the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached...”

•• As great as pre-kingdom John was, it is “greater ... [to be] in the kingdom
of God.”

Luk 8:1 After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another,
proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him.

•• As in Luk 4:43, the preaching of the good news of the kingdom of God was a
central ministry for Jesus.

•• It is said that “the Twelve were with him”, and they undoubtedly picked up on
the urgency to Jesus of the kingdom message.

Luk 8:9-10 His disciples asked him what this parable meant. “The knowledge of
the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak
in parables, so that, “‘though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they
may not understand.’ ”

•• See notes on the parallel in Mat 13:10-16 and Mark 4:10-13.

•• Note the parallel in Mark 4:11-12 : “The secret of the kingdom of God has
been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so
that, ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never
understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’”

• Harmonizing the accounts of Mark and Luke, we see that the contrast is between
“you” (Jesus’ believing disciples) and “others [Luke] ... those on the
outside[Mark]”, who have not been “forgiven” [Mark].

• The secrets of the kingdom are revealed to believers and hidden from those who
choose not to believe and remain “on the outside...[not] forgiven.”

• Jesus is not teaching that some believers get the revelation of the kingdom
and other believers are not allowed to get it. Jesus is teaching that those who
do not hear and understand the kingdom are “those on the outside,” who do not
enter among the “forgiven.” They are not saved.

Luk 9:1-2 When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and
authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to
preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

•• Again, the kingdom of God is linked with supernatural power and authority -
here, exorcisms and healings.

Luk 9:11 ...but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them
and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.

•• Once more, an association of healing and the kingdom of God.

Luk 9:27 “I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death
before they see the kingdom of God.”

•• See notes on the parallels in Mat 16:27-28 and Mark 9:1. Scholars offer many
and varied interpretations of this verse.

Luk 9:59-60 He said to another man, “Follow me.” But the man replied, “Lord,
first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their
own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

•• This scenario underscores the very high priority the kingdom must occupy in
our lives.

•• “The dead” who were to bury their own dead are obviously biologically alive,
or they couldn’t do any burying. So the reference is probably to their being
spiritually dead. If so, this would be another illustration of kingdom people as
believers and non-kingdom people as unbelievers.

Luk 9:61-62 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go
back and say good-by to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to
the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

•• Again, as just above, the kingdom is to be a highest priority to God’s
people.

Luk 10:8-12 “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you.
Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’ But
when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, ‘Even
the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be
sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.’ I tell you, it will be more bearable
on that day for Sodom than for that town.”

•• Again, healing is an evidence of the kingdom - “Heal the sick...and tell
them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’ “

•• The comparison to Sodom’s judgment shows how disastrously fatal it is to
reject the kingdom of God, remembering that the kingdom of God is the reign of
God. To their own judgment, many will reject God’s rule over them.

Luk 11:1-2 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one
of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his
disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘Father, hallowed be your
name, your kingdom come.”

•• As noted in the Mat 6:9-10 parallel, the kingdom is an issue for fervent
prayer.

•• As in Matthew, “Your kingdom come” - to be prayed by all Christians
throughout the Church Age - suggests that the fullness of the kingdom is yet
future.

Luk 11:20 But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of
God has come to you.

•• As in Mat 12:28, the exorcism of demons is shown to be an evidence of the
present reality of the kingdom of God, manifested in the person and ministry of
Jesus.

Luk 12:29-31 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not
worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father
knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given
to you as well.

•• This seems to be a shortened version of Mat 6:31-33 (see notes on those
verses).

Luk 12:32 Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to
give you the kingdom.

•• “...pleased to give you the kingdom” - As with the concept of salvation, the
kingdom is “given”, not earned by works.

Luk 13:18-19 Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I
compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his
garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its
branches.”

•• See notes on Mat 13:31-32.

• Again, there is an emphasis on the power of the kingdom to grow.

Luk 13:20-21 Again he asked, “What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? It is
like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it
worked all through the dough.”

•• Similar to the parallel in Mat 13:33.

Luk 13:23-30 Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be SAVED?”
He said to them, “Make every effort to ENTER through the narrow door, because
many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of
the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and
pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ “But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or
where you come from.’ “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you
taught in our streets.’ “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come
from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’ “There will be weeping there, and
gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in
the KINGDOM of God, but you yourselves thrown out. People will come from east
and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the
KINGDOM of God. Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first
who will be last.”

•• This is a kingdom parable, concerning “entering” the kingdom (Luk 13:24, Luk
13:28-29). Jesus taught it in reply to their question concerning being “saved”
(Luk 13:23). Jesus elaborated on “entering...the kingdom” as being the
equivalent of being “saved.”

•• The “weeping there, and gnashing of teeth” (Luk 13:28) occurs among those who
are NOT “SAVED” (Luk 13:23) - that is, those who are excluded from the kingdom
by the closed narrow door (Luk 13:24).

• This is the clear context - that is, those who are excluded from the kingdom
are those who are NOT SAVED (Luk 13:23).

•• The “weeping and gnashing of teeth” by those who are NOT SAVED = EXCLUDED
from the kingdom should be factored in to any interpretations of weeping and
gnashing of teeth elsewhere. For example:

• Mat 8:10-12 where, in contrast to the faith-demonstrating Gentile centurion,
the unbelieving Jews will be cast into outer darkness, where there will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.

• Mat 13:37-43 where the “sons of the kingdom” are contrasted with the “sons of
the evil one.” The latter will be “weed[ed] out of his kingdom ... [and He] will
throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of
teeth (Mat 13:41-42).”

• Mat 13:47-50, the kingdom parable of the net full of fish. The contrast is
between the “good [and] bad” fish (Mat 13:48), the “wicked [and] the righteous”
(Mat 13:49). The “bad ... the wicked” are thrown “into the fiery furnace, where
there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth”(Mat 13:50).

• Mat 22:2-13, the kingdom parable of the wedding banquet. The man without the
wedding clothes (Mat 22:12) was thrown “outside, into the darkness, where there
will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Mat 22:13). Many commentators hold the
wedding clothes to be the garment of God’s imputed righteousness given to the
saved. This would be an interpretation consistent with the previous passages
above.

• Mat 24:48-51, the parable of the “wicked” (Mat 24:48) servant. He is “cut to
pieces” and assigned to a place of “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Mat 24:51).
The context seems to me to be clearly an unsaved man incurring the wrath of God
(“cut to pieces”), who is doing the "weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Mat 24:42).

• In Mat 25:30 it is a “worthless servant [cast] into the darkness, where there
will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” “Worthless” is not the type of adjective
God uses for His redeemed people.

•• In sum, merging all the above verses, there seems to be a consistent teaching
here about those who are the ones doing the “weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
They are the UNSAVED (Luk 13:23) = those who have not “entered...the kingdom”
(Luk 13:24; Luk 13:28-29) = those without faith in Jesus (Mat 8:10-12) = the
“sons of the evil one” (Mat 13:37-43) = the “bad ... the wicked”(Mat 13:47-50) =
the man without the wedding clothes (Mat 22:2-13) = the “wicked ... [servant]
cut to pieces” (Mat 24:48-51) = the “worthless” servant (Mat 25:30).

• The common denominator in these parables is that they are various ways of
describing those who end up in “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” This large list
of negative phrases all describe the UNSAVED (Luk 13:23) who do NOT ENTER the
kingdom (Luk 13:24; Luk 13:28-29).

Luk 14:15-24 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to
Jesus, “Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”
Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many
guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had
been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ “But they all alike began to
make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see
it. Please excuse me.’ “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and
I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ “Still another said, ‘I just
got married, so I can’t come.’ “The servant came back and reported this to his
master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go
out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the
crippled, the blind and the lame.’ “‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered
has been done, but there is still room.’ “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go
out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will
be full. I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of
my banquet.’”

•• See comments on a similar parable in Mat 22:1-14.

•• Jesus does not interpret the parable for us, but many have seen in it a
reference to the rejection of the Gospel by Jews as a whole and the acceptance
of it by Gentiles.

Luk 16:16 The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time,
the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing
his way into it.

•• See the comments on Mat 11:12.

•• Jesus makes a clear distinction between the time of “the Law and the
Prophets” and the time of “the kingdom of God.”

•• The expression “everyone is forcing his way into it” is variously
interpreted. One common interpretation is that it refers to people making
diligent efforts to enter the kingdom of God in all its fullness.

Luk 17:20-21 Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God
would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come visibly[NIV version
©1978], nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom
of God is within you [NIV margin: among you)].”

•• Jesus answers the question about the timing of the kingdom’s coming by saying
two main things:

1) It “does not come visibly” or [KJV] “not with observation” or [KJV margin]
not “with outward show.”

2) The “kingdom of God is within you [NIV margin: “among you”]."At the time of
Jesus’ speaking, God’s kingdom was already present, but was “within” or “among”
them, but not so much in visible, outwardly demonstrated form.

Luk 18:16-17 But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little
children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to
such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of
God like a little child will never enter it.”

•• See comments on Mat 19:14 and Mark 10:13-15.

•• To “enter” the kingdom we must “receive [it] like a little child.
”Interpretations of those childlike attitudes and traits abound - among them,
trust, openness, and the absence of holier-than-thou attitudes.

Luk 18:18-27 A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit
eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good -
except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not
murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and
mother.’” “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said. When Jesus heard
this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and
give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth.
Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom
of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than
for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Those who heard this asked, “Who
then can be saved?” Jesus replied, “What is impossible with men is possible with
God.”

•• See comments also on Mat 19:16-26 and Mark 10:25-26.

•• As in the Matthew and Mark accounts of this incident, in Luke’s account also
there seems to be a clear equating of inheriting “eternal life” (Luk 18:18) with
“enter[ing] the kingdom” (Luk 18:24-25) and “be[ing] saved” (Luk 18:26). That
is, to be saved is to inherit eternal life is to enter the kingdom.

Luk 18:28-30 Peter said to him, “We have left all we had to follow you!” “I tell
you the truth,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or
brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to
receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life.”

•• The highest priority - God’s kingdom! Even above home and family.

•• Matthew, Mark, and Luke give us a variety of insights in the three parallels
concerning good motives for “leaving” these other priorities:

• Luke: “for the sake of the kingdom”

• Matthew (Mat 19:29): “for my [Jesus’] sake”

• Mark (Mark 10:29): “for me [Jesus] and the gospel”

•• Jesus teaches here that those who prioritize the kingdom first will receive
abundant blessings both in this life and in eternity.

Luk 19:11-27 While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a
parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom
of God was going to appear at once. He said: “A man of noble birth went to a
distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. So he called
ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Put this money to work,’ he said,
‘until I come back.’ “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him
to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’ “He was made king, however, and
returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in
order to find out what they had gained with it. “The first one came and said,
‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’ “‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master
replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge
of ten cities.’ “The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five
more.’ “His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’ “Then another
servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a
piece of cloth. I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out
what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’ “His master replied, ‘I
will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I
am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow?
Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could
have collected it with interest?’ “Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his
mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’ “‘Sir,’ they said,
‘he already has ten!’ “He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more
will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be
taken away. But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them -
bring them here and kill them in front of me.’”

•• Jesus resolves the question of whether the kingdom of God would “appear at
once.” The answer (Luk 19:12) is no. Rather, “A man of noble birth went to a
distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return.” Jesus
indicated that there would be an interval of time before His return.

•• Jesus also speaks of the importance of His disciples actively doing the
King’s work while the King is away - (Luk 19:13) ‘Put this money to work,’ he
said, ‘until I come back.’

•• In this “kingdom” parable (Luk 19:11), the enemies of the King are said (Luk
19:27) to be those “who did not want me to be king over them. ”They were ordered
to be killed in His sight.

•• The king had “his servants” (Luk 19:13). One of them turned out to be a
“wicked servant” (Luk 19:22). When the king came back, this servant suffered
loss (Luk 19:24), but he was not among the enemies of the king who were ordered
to be killed (Luk 19:27).

Luk 21:29-31 He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees.
When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is
near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of
God is near.

•• The context is Luk 21:1-38 as a whole. It is a chapter in which many signs of
the end are revealed. The point is simply stated that as the signs are being
fulfilled in the earth, we can know that “the kingdom of God is near” (Luk
21:31). In context, that is clearly speaking of the coming of the visible
kingdom.

Luk 22:15-18 And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover
with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds
fulfillment in the kingdom of God. After taking the cup, he gave thanks and
said, “Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again
of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

•• See comments on Mat 26:27-29 and Mark 14:25-26. Luke specifically speaks of
Passover “find[ing] fulfillment in the kingdom of God” - referring apparently to
the coming visible kingdom.

Luk 22:28-30 You are those who have stood by me in my trials. [29] And I confer
on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, [30] so that you may
eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve
tribes of Israel.

•• The future Messianic kingdom is in mind, where they will eat and drink at
Christ’s table in His kingdom.

•• There may be a link between their faithfulness to stand by Jesus in His
trials (Luk 22:28) and His conferring on them a kingdom.

•• In that kingdom the faithful apostles (clearly minus Judas) will sit as
judges over the twelve tribes.

Luk 23:42-43 Then [the repentant thief] said, “Jesus, remember me when you come
into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be
with me in paradise.”

•• Interesting - Jesus seemed to make a link between His “com[ing]into [His]
kingdom” (Luk 23:42) with His expectation to be “today...in paradise” (Luk
23:43).

Luk 23:51 ...[Joseph] had not consented to their decision and action. He came
from the Judean town of Arimathea and he was waiting for the kingdom of God.

•• Joseph of Arimathea “was waiting for the kingdom of God, ”reflecting the
Messianic hopes of devout Jews.

John 3:1-8 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the
Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you
are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous
signs you are doing if God were not with him.” In reply Jesus declared, “I tell
you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” How
can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a
second time into his mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered, “I tell you the
truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the
Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You
should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows
wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from
or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

•• Jesus told Nicodemus that to “see (John 3:3) ... [or] enter (John 3:5) the
kingdom of God,” a person must be “born again” (John 3:3), he must be “born of
water and the Spirit” (John 3:5). Jesus elaborated in verse six that He is
referring to the necessity of a Holy Spirit-given birth.

•• So being “born again” by the Spirit seems to be the prerequisite for
“enter[ing]” the kingdom of God. This would be in marked contrast to Nicodemus’s
certain belief as a teacher of Israel (John 3:10) that one is commended to God
by one’s righteous works.

• Jesus, knowing full well what this preeminent Jew would have believed
concerning righteous works of the Law, stated that no one could see or enter the
kingdom of God without the new birth of the Spirit.

•• In his commentary on this Gospel, F.F. Bruce writes: “To a Jew with
Nicodemus’s upbringing, seeing the kingdom of God would mean participation in
the age to come, the resurrection life. In this Gospel as in the others ‘the
kingdom of God’ in this sense is interchangeable with ‘eternal life’ (compare
‘to enter life’ in Mark 9:43; Mark 9:45, with ‘to enter the kingdom of God’ in
Mark 9:47).”

John 18:36-37 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my
servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is
from another place.” “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You
are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for
this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of
truth listens to me.”

•• Jesus asserts that His is not an earthly kingdom, but is “from another
place,” certainly referring to heaven.

•• In verse 37 Jesus confirmed His kingship - “You are right in saying I am a
king.” Kingdoms have a king.

Acts 1:3 After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many
convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty
days and spoke about the kingdom of God.

•• “After His suffering” and resurrection, Jesus continued to articulate His
frequent message “about the kingdom of God.”

• In this post-resurrection era, so should we!

Acts 1:6-7 So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this
time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for
you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.

•• Seemingly, even after His resurrection Jesus’ close disciples were still
expecting and hoping for an immediate establishment of God’s theocratic rule.

•• Jesus in essence told them to leave the timing of that up to God.

Acts 8:12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the
kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and
women.

•• Again, the urgency of preaching the kingdom message.

Acts 14:21-22 They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of
disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the
disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through
many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.

•• Entering the kingdom of God will include “many hardships. ”Therefore, the
apostles exhorted the disciples “to remain true to the faith.”

Acts 19:8 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months,
arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God.

•• The kingdom of God continued to be a major theme of apostolic preaching.

Acts 20:25 “Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching
the kingdom will ever see me again.”

•• Same as comments on previous verse.

Acts 28:23 They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger
numbers to the place where he was staying. From morning till evening he
explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to convince them
about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets.

•• Paul was strongly moved to deliver an extensive sermon about the kingdom of
God to the Jewish leaders in Rome.

Acts 28:30-31 For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and
welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and without hindrance he preached the
kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.

•• Acts closes with the bold preaching of the kingdom of God in the major city
(Rome) of the Gentile nations. Again and again, as here, we see the linkage of
the kingdom message with “the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Rom 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of
righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

•• The kingdom of God is not a matter of externals - here, “eating and
drinking.”

•• The kingdom, rather, is a matter of spiritual issues -“righteousness, peace
and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

1Co 4:19-20 But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I
will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power
they have. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.

•• Another contrast:

• what the kingdom is not: “a matter of talk”

• what the kingdom is: “a matter ... of power”

•• There is power in the kingdom because of the power of our heavenly King.

1Co 6:9-11 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God?
Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers
nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor
drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that
is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were
justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

•• A sober warning for all - “the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Wickedness is not compatible with God’s kingdom.

•• The solution to being excluded from the kingdom for wickedness (9-10) is to
be “washed ... sanctified ... justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and
by the Spirit of our God” (1Co 6:11).

1Co 15:23-24 But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he
comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the
kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and
power.

•• After His coming (1Co 15:23), when “the end will come” (1Co 15:24), Jesus
will hand the kingdom over to God the Father.

1Co 15:50-52 I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the
kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell
you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed - in a flash,
in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the
dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

•• The natural body that we now live in “cannot inherit the kingdom of God” (1Co
15:50). It must first “be changed” (1Co 15:51), be resurrected (1Co 15:52) and
changed into an immortal body (the following verses).

Gal 5:19-21 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality,
impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy,
fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness,
orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this
will not inherit the kingdom of God.

•• This is a similar warning to Paul’s statement in 1Co 6:9-10 that the wicked
(here, “those who live like this”) will “not inherit the kingdom of God.”

• There is no place in God’s kingdom for those who willingly choose to continue
to live ungodly lives.

Eph 5:5-6 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person -
such a man is an idolater - has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of
God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s
wrath comes on those who are disobedient.

•• “The kingdom” is that of Christ and of God the Father. It is the same kingdom
(singular). Both of them are co-regents.

•• The wrath of God and exclusion from the kingdom are the final lot of those
who remain “immoral, impure, or greedy.” These are typical examples of the
conduct of “the wicked [who] will not inherit the kingdom of God” (1Co 6:9-10,
studied earlier).

Col 1:12-14 ...giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in
the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us
from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he
loves, n whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

•• The “kingdom of light” (Col 1:12) and the “kingdom of the Son” (Col 1:13)
appear to be synonymous expressions.

•• Col 1:13 shows God as having delivered us (KJV) from the devil’s dominion
into the Son’s kingdom. Every person alive right now lives in two of the three
kingdoms: (1) an earthly, geographically defined “kingdom,” i.e., America,
Canada, France, etc.; and (2) a spiritual kingdom - either (a) God’s or (b) the
devil’s.

• Col 1:13-14 say that Jesus Christ “redeems” us, forgives our sins, and brings
us “into the kingdom of the Son.” Our initial entrance “into” the Lord’s kingdom
seems to be at the point of our salvation, when we are born again, redeemed, and
forgiven our sins.

•• The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (p. 179) has an illuminating comment on the
Greek grammar concerning God having “qualified” believers “to share in the
inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light” - “The tense of the verb is
aorist, pointing to the time of the Colossians’ conversion. The suggestion is
that the qualifying is not a process but an instantaneous act.”

• This seems to speak of an instantaneous entrance into the spiritual kingdom,
not a progressive one. The verb tense speaks of a point-in-time qualifying for
the kingdom, not the sense of “we are being qualified.”

Col 4:11 Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only
Jews among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a
comfort to me.

•• “Workers for the kingdom” - remember the pearl of great price. It is worth
selling out all else for the sake of the kingdom.

1Th 2:12 ...encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God,
who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

•• The call into God’s kingdom should motivate us to “live lives worthy of God.”

2Th 1:4-5 Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and
faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. All this is evidence
that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the
kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.

•• “Perseverance and faith” while undergoing “persecutions and trials” gain for
us a great benefit - “as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of
God, for which you are suffering.”

• Christians may be called to suffer for God’s kingdom(2Th 1:5).

• The response to such suffering that God counts as “worthy” is “perseverance
and faith.”

• These verses are reminiscent of the words of Paul and Barnabas in Acts 14:22 -
“We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.”

2Ti 4:1-2 a In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the
living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you
this charge: Preach the Word.

•• “Preach the Word,” get the Word out! Why? Because of the Christian’s
passionate awareness of “[Christ’s] appearing and his kingdom.”

• The King is coming! Tell them about the King!

2Ti 4:18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely
to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

•• “His heavenly kingdom” is probably a rephrasing of the more common “kingdom
of heaven.”

•• In light of his choice of tenses, Paul seems to have in mind the future sense
of God’s kingdom, not its present reality within believers - “The Lord ... will
bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom.”

Heb 1:8 But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and
ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.

•• This quote from Psa 45:6 says some important things “about the Son,” about
Jesus Christ:

• He is addressed by God the Father in the words, “O God.” This is a powerful
proof of Jesus’ Deity.

• Jesus is said to have a “throne.” This speaks of royalty, sovereignty,
leadership.

• Jesus is said to have a “kingdom.” The King on His throne rules over His
kingdom.

• “Righteousness” is said to characterize Christ’s kingdom.

Heb 12:28-29 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken,
let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for
our “God is a consuming fire.”

•• In contrast to transient earthly kingdoms - e.g., ancient Babylon, Assyria,
Egypt, Rome, etc. - the kingdom of God “cannot be shaken.”

• For that reason, we who “are receiving [this] kingdom” should feel a sense of
gratitude and a motivation to worship such an omnipotent King (the Regent of the
kingdom).

Jas 2:5-7 Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the
eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised
those who love him? But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are
exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they
not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong?

•• Several things are said about those who “inherit the kingdom” - • They are
“chosen” by God (Jas 2:5).

• They are often those who are “poor in the eyes of the world” (Jas 2:5).

• But they are “rich in faith” (Jas 2:5). Faith is inseparably tied to
“inherit[ing] the kingdom.”

• They love God (Jas 2:5).

2Pe 1:9-11 But if anyone does not have [the aforementioned godly qualities], he
is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his
past sins. Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling
and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will
receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ.

•• Here, the future eternal kingdom is clearly in mind - “you will receive a
rich welcome into the eternal kingdom.”

•• The “welcome into the eternal kingdom” will come in the context of the
citizen of the kingdom having been “cleansed from his past sins.”

•• These verses make a strong statement that those entering the kingdom are
expected to possess the qualities listed in 2Pe 1:5-7 : faith ... goodness ...
knowledge ... self-control ... perseverance ... godliness ... brotherly kindness
... love.

Rev 1:5-6 ...and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn
from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and
has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and
priests to serve his God and Father - to him be glory and power for ever and
ever! Amen.

•• Jesus is identified as “the ruler of the kings of the earth.” God the Father
has purposed to put all things under Jesus’ feet (1Co 15:24-27).

•• There seems to be a flow of thought: (Rev 1:5) Jesus has “freed us from our
sins by his blood” and (Rev 1:6) by so doing He “has made us to be a kingdom...”

•• Interestingly, the words used here are not “entering” or “inheriting” the
kingdom, but BEING a kingdom to serve God. I suggest an analogy here -

• When a person is born again, he or she enters into the family of God. But that
person also becomes PART OF the family of God (see 1Co 6:18; also 1Pe 4:17).

• Likewise, when a person is born again and has his sins washed away by Jesus’
blood (Rev 1:5), he is not only brought “into the kingdom" (Col 1:13), but he
also becomes PART OF the kingdom (Rev 1:6).

Rev 1:9 I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and
patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of
the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

•• Associated with the kingdom are suffering and the need for patient endurance.
These three things - suffering, the kingdom, and patient endurance - are “ours
in Jesus.”

Rev 5:9-10 And they sang a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to
open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men
for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them
to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”

•• Similar to Rev 1:5-6, just studied above. Jesus redeemed us by His blood and
made us “to be a kingdom ... [that] will reign on the earth.”

Rev 11:15 The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in
heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord
and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.”

KJV: “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his
Christ.”

•• As the end-time events of the Revelation unfold, we see a power shift. Power
once wielded by earthly kings and rulers is taken from them and exercised
entirely by God the Father and Jesus His Son. This transition is fully finalized
in Rev 19:1-21, at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to earth.

Rev 12:10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation
and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For
the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has
been hurled down.

•• Satan is cast from heaven after a mighty battle with Michael and his angels
(Rev 12:7-9). This is a great milestone in the imminent realization of the
eternal aspects of the kingdom - “Now have come the salvation and the power and
the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ."

Conclusion: The word “kingdom” is not repeated in the final two chapters of
Revelation. But in these final two Bible chapters, the Second Coming of Christ
is now past. And we see the Father and Son established “on the throne of God and
of the Lamb” (Rev 22:1-5). Saved men and women live in the direct presence of
God “for ever and ever.”

Postscript: Dr. Tom Roselius offers an in-depth look at the kingdom of heaven.
He offers some profound insights on the "within you" aspects of the kingdom,
along with some ponderings about the kingdom in the end times that challenge
some traditional interpretations. His study may be found at "Kingdom of
God/Kingdom of Heaven: Then and Now".


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 4: S. ONLY ONE WAY TO GOD:
========================================================================

Only One Way to God: Only One Savior, Jesus Christ by Pastor Jim Feeney, Ph.D.

Summary: You hear people say, “All roads lead to God.” However, the bible
exposes this as a tragic error that is leading millions to eternity in hell. By
contrast, numerous Scriptures plainly declare that the one and only way to God
is through the Savior, Jesus Christ. Let’s see what the bible clearly teaches
about the one way to salvation — Jesus Christ!

Acts 16:30-31, KJV ...Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

•• The apostle Paul was asked by the Philippian jail keeper, “What must I do to
be saved?” Paul’s immediate response was to exhort the jailer to “believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ” and he would be saved.

•• Paul did not offer or suggest multiple roads to God. He set forth Jesus
Christ as the pathway to salvation.

•• Jesus Himself stated this same truth, as the next Scripture shows.

John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes
to the Father except through me.”

•• The way, the truth, the life! Not “a way”.

• Not one of many ways to God, but “the way” (singular).

•• ”I [Jesus] am the way ... to the Father.”

• One can dismiss Jesus’ statement, to one’s eternal peril.

• Or one can accept Jesus as declaring an all-important truth — that is, that He
and He alone is the pathway for men and women to come to God.

• Jesus did not allow for other avenues to salvation. He plainly said that “no
one comes to the Father except through Me.”

•• The apostle Peter joined Jesus and the apostle Paul in declaring the one and
only way to salvation, as the following verses show.

Acts 4:10; Acts 4:12 [The apostle Peter said] Then know this, you and all the
people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you
crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you
healed.... Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under
heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

•• Peter’s words are unequivocally clear: “Salvation is found in no one else
[than Jesus Christ, Acts 4:10].”

• Not in good works, not in good intentions, not in trying hard. Sadly, millions
of people have fallen for the error that says our good works will surely earn us
a place in heaven. But the Bible clearly indicates that God’s "great salvation"
is by the Lord’s grace, not by our good works.

• Eph 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not
from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.

• Tit 3:5, KJV Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according
to his mercy he saved us.

•• Likewise, Peter asserted that no other living being — past, present, or
future — could lead us to God and to salvation. He said, “There is no other name
[than Jesus’ name, vs. 10] ... by which we must be saved.”

• Great men like Abraham, Moses, Paul, and Peter cannot save us.

• The heroes of other religions — Buddha, Muhammad, Joseph Smith, etc. —
certainly cannot save us.

• Only Jesus Christ the Son of God can save us and bring us to God.

•• Let’s examine in the following verses a variety of insights into our main
theme — that is, that Jesus Christ is the one and only way to God and to eternal
salvation. First, let’s look at some of the insights offered by the apostle
Paul.

Eph 2:17-18 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to
those who were near. For through him [Jesus] we both have access to the Father
by one Spirit.

•• Paul states succinctly that it is through Jesus that both Jew and Gentile
“have access to the Father”.

• Jesus came from God the Father in heaven to earth (John 1:14; John 16:28).

• And now it is through Jesus — and His death, burial, and resurrection — that
we have been provided access to God the Father in heaven.

1Co 2:1-2 When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or
superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved
to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

•• The Book of Acts relates the story of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus (Acts
9:1-22), now known to us as Paul the apostle. This persecutor of the early
church had failed to find salvation in his strict adherence to Judaism. Then he
found salvation, eternal life, and peace with God through his new faith in Jesus
Christ.

•• Thereafter Paul had one dominant message — “Jesus Christ and Him crucified”!

• Paul preached Jesus Christ as Savior — Jesus, who had died for our sins, was
buried, and rose again on the third day. That, he said, was “the Gospel”, the
Good News (1Co 15:1-4). To offer any other savior, or way of salvation, is bad
news!

1Co 3:11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid,
which is Jesus Christ.

•• Too many people in this world try to lay some other foundation for salvation
— for example, the doing of good works; living a decent, honorable life; going
to church, etc. These are certainly good things to do, but they are not the
foundation for salvation.

• “No one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus
Christ.” Jesus and Jesus alone is the only foundation for our salvation. He
alone is the Rock upon which we can take our eternal stand. As the hymn says,
“All other ground is sinking sand.”

1Ti 2:3-6 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be
saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one
mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom
for all men...

•• Paul writes to young Pastor Timothy that the only mediator between God and
man is the Son of God, who came to earth and became man for us, that is, Jesus
Christ. He is the only mediator, the only go-between between lost sinners and a
holy God.

•• Now let’s examine a number of very clear Scriptural declarations by the
apostle John of the unique place Jesus occupies in the salvation of our souls.

John 3:16-18; John 3:36 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only
Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For
God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the
world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does
not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of
God’s one and only Son.... Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but
whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.

•• John 3:16 is among the bible’s most famous verses. It promises eternal life
to those who come in faith to Jesus. But John 3:18 and John 3:36 add some
important warnings.

• John 3:18 — “Whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has
not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” To reject Jesus is to incur
God’s condemnation.

• John 3:36 — Eternal life is mentioned again as the reward for those who come
in faith to Jesus. But we read the dire warning: “Whoever rejects the Son will
not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” It is a fatal decision to reject
God’s only provision for salvation, Jesus Christ.

John 6:66-68 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer
followed him. “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.
Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of
eternal life.”

•• At a time when some of Jesus’ disciples were leaving Him, Peter spoke words
of wisdom for seekers of all generations: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have
the words of eternal life.” Peter knew that there was no other source, no other
words, no other avenue that led to salvation than the words of truth that Jesus
spoke about Himself and God the Father.

John 8:23-24 But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of
this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins;
if you do not believe that I am [the one I claim to be], you will indeed die in
your sins.”

•• In contrast to all other men, including His own apostles, Jesus asserted, “I
am from above.” His origin, His rightful place, and His current place of
enthronement, is heaven itself.

•• That being said, Jesus warned His hearers that if they did not believe in Him
and in His words, they would die in their sins. Again, He was making a clear,
unequivocal statement that it was through Him alone that we would be saved from
our sins.

1Jn 2:1-2 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if
anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense — Jesus
Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not
only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

•• Who speaks to the Father in defense of us sinners? Jesus Christ!

•• Who is the “atoning sacrifice for our sins”? Again, Jesus.

•• The Bible declares us all guilty sinners (Rom 3:23). What remedy has God
provided for that? Only one — “We have one who speaks to the Father in our
defense — Jesus Christ.”

1Jn 4:14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the
Savior of the world.

•• All roads do not lead to God. It is God, not man, who has the right to
determine how lost sinners will have their relationship established with Him.
And He has determined that His Son Jesus will be that divine provision for our
salvation.

• “The Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.”

1Jn 2:23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son
has the Father also.

•• John echoes Jesus’ words that He, Jesus, is the only way to God the Father.
He declares in no uncertain terms that "no one who denies the Son has the
Father".

1Jn 5:11-12 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this
life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of
God does not have life.

•• It is wonderful to find eternal “life in His Son.”

•• It is an eternaldisasterto lookelsewherefor salvation, for“he who doesnot
have the Sonof God doesnot have life.” In closing this bible study, let’s look
at two final Scripture portions, both from the writer of the epistle to
theHebrews.

Heb 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now
crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of
God he might taste death for everyone.

•• Why is Jesus the one and only way to God? Because it is Jesus God’s Son who
was chosen by God to “taste death for everyone.”

• As Paul wrote, it is Good News (“gospel”) that “Christ died for our sins” (1Co
15:3) and “was raised to life for our justification” (Rom 4:25).

• We serve a crucified and risen Savior, the only one God has ever appointed to
such a glorious task.

Heb 9:27-28 Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face
judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people;
and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to
those who are waiting for him.

•• This same crucified, risen, exalted and only Savior Jesus Christ “will appear
a second time ... to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.”

• Are you waiting for Him as Savior? Or have you fallen for the eternally fatal
deception, “All roads lead to God”?

• Jesus is waiting warmly, graciously, and openly today for you to come to Him
for salvation. Believe in Him as the crucified and risen Son of God. Bring your
sins to Him in sincere sorrow for forgiveness. And experience His welcoming you
into the family of God and into the sure hope of spending an indescribably
glorious eternity with Him and with God the Father.


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 5: S. SLAIN IN THE SPIRIT” | HOLY LAUGHTER | “FALLING OUT
========================================================================

“Slain In the Spirit” | Holy Laughter | “Falling Out” Should We Join the
Laughing and Falling Revival? by Pastor Jim Feeney, Ph.D.

Summary: I first preached this sermon as a response to a movement in North
American churches in the early 1990s. It featured what was called “holy
laughter” and “falling out” (or being “slain in the Spirit”). I investigated
these phenomena both in person and in the Scriptures. I found much excess and
very little Scriptural support for the often bizarre activities of the movement.
This 1995 sermon summarized my findings. Holy laughter, “falling out,” and being
“slain in the Spirit” as an identifiable movement have mostly died out today
(2006). However, although the broad movement fell out of favor fairly soon,
these manifestations persist in many individual churches to this day.

Eze 33:7 Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear
the word I speak and give them WARNING from me.

•• I’m deeply burdened and moved to give you a warning.

•• A “movement” has broken out in the U.S.A. and Canada.

•• It was launched primarily by an evangelist from Africa. Then it got a major
boost from widely-publicized meetings in a church in Toronto, Ontario. It has
captured virtually entire fellowships of churches and millions of Christians.

•• In November 1992, in Anchorage, Alaska, I attended 16 hours of revival
meetings featuring what was then being called “holy laughter” and “falling out”
or being “slain in the Spirit.” Some of those attending were also staggering
around as if drunk, which was termed being “drunk in the Spirit.”

•• Some of my minister friends embraced this. A few were undecided. Others were
and are strongly opposed.

After two years and three months of observing and studying this movement, both
in person and from other reports, plus much searching of the Scriptures, I wish
to establish my personal position on this movement. I have much respect for my
ministry friends who hold different convictions on this issue. However, I am
sufficiently troubled by the nonbiblical nature of much of what I have seen and
read that I feel it is imperative to “take a stand” based on Scripture.

•• At the beginning of this move I believe it was, at best, a non-biblical
mixture of spirit and flesh. As this move has progressed, I believe it has
evolved increasingly to the point where it is bringing great confusion, damage,
and division to the Church in North America.

•• The early movement’s manifestations were primarily three: (1) laughing, (2)
“falling out” or being “slain in the Spirit,” and (3) being “drunk in the
Spirit.”

•• Predictably, this has progressed to include now such “manifestations” as
roaring, clawing the air like a lion, and (the latest) vomiting.

•• These activities are labeled in the movement as “manifestations of the
Spirit”. But the only place in the Bible where the phrase “the manifestation of
the Spirit” occurs is in introducing the list of the GIFTS of the Holy Spirit:

1Co 12:7-11 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the
common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to
another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith
by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another
miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between
spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another
the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same
Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

•• I want to examine the Laughing-Falling Revival in the light of the
Scriptures.

• Remember Isa 8:20 — “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not
according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”

• Recall also Acts 17:11 — “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than
the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and
examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”

1Co 14:32-33 The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. For
God is not a God of disorder but of peace.

•• Spiritual people [here, even prophets!] are under control. One of the fruits
of the Spirit is self-control (Gal 5:23).

•• That which characterizes the things of God is peace, not disorder! — even in
“Pentecostal” church meetings like the ones in Corinth!

•• At the end of 1Co 14:1-40, the Bible’s largest chapter teaching on the
operation of the Holy Spirit in the assembled church, Paul closes with this
charge: [vs. 1Co 14:40] “But everything should be done in a fitting and ORDERLY
way.” Disorder is entirely contrary to the nature of the Holy Spirit and His
operations in the Church.

• Paul says further [vs. 1Co 14:37]: “If anybody thinks he is a prophet or
spiritually gifted, let him acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the
Lord’s command.” His encouragement to good order was “the Lord’s command”!

Acts 2:22 ...Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles,
wonders and signs, which God did among you through him...

•• “SIGNS and WONDERS” — that is the catch-all phrase used in the movement to
describe many of these things that can’t be substantiated by the Bible. So they
are lumped under the term “signs and wonders.”

•• But notice! Jesus is specifically said to have done “signs and wonders.”
Where is the record of them? The four Gospels! What were Jesus’ signs and
wonders?

• Healing the sick • Raising the dead • Cleansing the lepers • Casting out
demons • Multiplying the loaves and fish, and so forth •• And these are the
types of signs and wonders Jesus’ disciples did in the Book of Acts!

•• No falling ... No raucous laughing ... No staggering as if drunk. No crowing
like roosters or roaring like lions.

•• NO! They were too busy preaching the Word of God and seeing it confirmed with
REAL signs and wonders.

• Peter and John raising up the lame man, with the result that thousands were
saved. • Paul raising up the dead boy Eutychus. • Philip preaching Jesus in
Samaria and having it confirmed with “...miraculous signs ... evil spirits came
out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed ... great joy in that
city.” (Acts 8:5-8) •• These are biblical signs and wonders! To confirm the Word
of God.

LAUGHING [“holy laughter”]:

Search the New Testament. You will NOT find a hint of anything endorsing
laughing in a gathering of believers. In fact, the New Testament refers only 6
times to laughing at all — five of those in a negative context. The final bible
mention of laughing is James’s warning to Christians — Jas 4:8-10 “...You
sinners... Grieve, mourn, and wail. Change your LAUGHTER TO MOURNING.... Humble
yourselves before the lord....”

•• In the December 19, 1994 issue of his ministry’s magazine, Rev. David
Wilkerson said, “Most of the so-called spiritual revivals today are mere
cardboard structures.... Right now there are Jews mourning and weeping for their
Messiah at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. And not long ago some 10,000
Lubavitcher Jews held a march in Brooklyn, crying, ‘This is the year of our
Messiah!’ Their hands were upraised, tears rolled down their faces, and they
wept and cried out for their Messiah. “When I think of the 25 million babies
aborted in this country and all the lost people who are going to hell, I don’t
understand why multitudes of Christians are laughing. Why are millions of Jews
weeping and millions of hellbound, disillusioned sinners crying themselves to
sleep while charismatics are laughing? When the revival comes, the joy will be
because of repentance and because of the ingathering of the last harvest of lost
souls.”

FALLING [being “slain in the Spirit ... falling out”]:

Again, search the Scriptures.

•• In the 66 books of the Bible, there is not one instance of a man or woman
MINISTERING this experience to someone else. No prayer lines to receive the
experience! No pushers! No catchers!

•• JESUS is not recorded as ever ministering this in the Gospels. What’s wrong?
Did Jesus lack sufficient “Holy Spirit anointing”? I pose that ludicrous
question because some of the leaders of this movement proclaim that people fall
in the presence of the leader’s anointing. That is preposterous when compared
with the absence of these manifestations in the presence of the Bible’s most
anointed Man — Jesus Christ!

•• This never occurred in the biblically recorded ministries of the great
apostles Peter and Paul — or of any other apostles, either!

•• In the Bible, those who fell, fell before the LORD, not man! Paul fell before
Jesus. John on the Island of Patmos fell before the glorious Lord Jesus. No man
pushed them ... no man prayed for them ... no one stood behind to catch them.

•• In Rev 1:17-19, John fell before the resurrected, glorified Jesus. Jesus got
John right UP and got him busy writing down the Revelation. John was lucid,
alert, awake. Jesus didn’t leave John lying down on the ground.

•• Search the Scriptures. Again and again, people fell down before the Lord, not
man; usually face forward; often voluntarily; and usually to worship.

• 2Ch 20:18 “Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all the
people...fell down in worship before the Lord.”

• Eze 3:23-24 “...the glory of the Lord was standing there...and I fell
facedown. Then the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet.” The Spirit
lifted him up from the ground, rather than knocking him down to the ground!

• 1Co 14:24-25 “...convinced that he is a sinner.... So he will fall down and
worship God, exclaiming, ‘God is really among you.’” = conviction of sin and a
voluntary prostration before God, still in full control of his faculties.

•• The common denominator was: whether voluntary or involuntary falling, it was
before God, not man. And no man or woman ministered the experience to others
anywhere in the entire Bible.

•• A note of caution to those who misunderstand John 18:6 — When Jesus said to
the soldiers in Gethsemane, “I am He,” it says “THEY drew back and fell to the
ground.” They were not overcome by the Spirit!

SPIRITUAL DRUNKENNESS:

Read: Acts 2:4, Acts 2:7-8, Acts 2:11-15 These are not drunk as you suppose
[Acts 2:15].

•• This passage is corrupted in the movement to justify conduct labeled as being
“DRUNK in the Spirit.”

•• But it does NOT say anyone saw any staggering or any loss of control
whatsoever.

•• To the contrary, the people’s amazement was over hearing the tongues-speakers
clearly articulating the wonders of God in foreign languages. [Acts 2:11-12] ••
It was only the mockers [Acts 2:13] who ridiculed them with charges of
drunkenness.

Eph 5:18-20 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be
filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual
songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to
God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

•• Read what it actually says; don’t read into it.

• It says DON’T get drunk on wine.

• It says do be FILLED (not “drunk”) with the Spirit.

• Hear that again. It says don’t get drunk ... do get filled!

• It then lists the results of this filling with the Spirit: speaking to one
another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs ... a song in your heart to the
Lord ... abundant thanksgiving to God. No staggering! No spiritual intoxication!

”Some FALL UPON THE GROUND, unable to bear the strained emotion or effect upon
the mind; and some are THROWN DOWN by some supernatural power; others CRY OUT in
ECSTASY; the speaker leaves the platform, passes by a young man, who becomes
conscious of a feeling of INTOXICATION upon him, which does not leave his senses
for some time. Others LAUGH with the exuberance of the intoxicating joy....”
[Author’s note: This is not a 1995 meeting. This was written in 1912 about the
Welsh Revival of 1904-05 and its aftermath.] “...Briefly put, this is a glimpse
into the mixed “manifestations” which have come upon the Church of God since the
Revival in Wales. For, almost without exception, in every land where REVIVAL has
since broken forth, within a very brief period of time the COUNTERFEIT stream
has mingled with the true....[99-100] — (Jesse Penn-Lewis and Evan Roberts, from
War on the Saints, 1912). The Famous Welsh Revival declined when these same
manifestations began to break out, according to Evan Roberts, the primary leader
of the Welsh Revival.

•• Christ would not have warned His disciples, “Take heed ... be not deceived”,
if it were not possible for well-meaning Christians to be deceived.

•• Arrogance and judgmentalism have entered into this movement. At least one of
its major leaders prophesied judgment on those who deny that this is the move of
God. I heard this personally spoken 27 months ago by one of the early leaders of
the holy laughter-falling out movement.

•• This move fails the test of John 15:1-27 and John 16:1-33, where Jesus says
that the Holy Spirit’s mission is to testify of JESUS and to glorify JESUS.

• This movement in many cases (not all) glorifies its leaders ... it glorifies
feelings and mood alteration ... it glorifies manipulated, mind-controlled
conduct ... and it throws charges of “unbelief” at those of us who dare to
declare that it fails to survive examination in the light of Scripture. In sum,
what do I think is the source of much of what is going on in the
Laughing/Falling Revival?

1. Unrestrained emotionalism 2. Learned responses, often manipulated by the
speaker 3. An increasing element of the demonic Is GOD present and even
operating among all of this? Of course! Because God loves people. He wants to
save and bless people. But just as in the Welsh Revival of 1904-05, the false,
the carnal, and even the demonic are, in my estimate, occurring with increasing
frequency in this movement. My exhortation to those who have entered into this
growing deception is to return to the preaching and teaching of the Gospel, the
preaching of the Cross, the preaching of Jesus, and to seek confirmation of
God’s Word with biblical demonstrations of the Holy Spirit and power. As one
pastor who fled from this movement said: “When worship of God becomes REVELRY,
the next step is idolatry.”

Let’s obey the Bible command to TEST everything and hold on to the good.

Test these manifestations by the Word of God. Test “holy laughter”; test
“falling out” and being “slain in the Spirit” through the ministry of men and
women, as practiced in this movement. You will find that these things FAIL the
test in the light of God’s Word.

Preached at Medford (Oregon) Christian Center, Sunday, February 5, 1995


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 6: S. THE MIGHTY HAND OF GOD
========================================================================

The Mighty Hand of God by Pastor Jim Feeney, Ph.D.

Summary: The mighty hand of God is ever ready to minister powerfully to us and
through us.

Note to preachers: This sermon is in basic outline form and leaves room for you
to add illustrations relevant to your hearers.

1Pe 5:6, KJV Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God.

•• Let’s see how mighty the Lord’s hand can be in our lives.

Isa 48:12-13 Listen to me, O Jacob, Israel, whom I have called: I am he; I am
the first and I am the last. My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and
my right hand spread out the heavens...

•• The very creation was fashioned by the mighty hand of God!

Exo 7:4-5 [Pharaoh] will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and
with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the
Israelites. And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I stretch out my
hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.

•• God’s mighty hand worked acts of judgment against His people’s enemies
(Egypt) and brought deliverance to His people (Israel).

Jos 4:22-24 Tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ For the LORD
your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The LORD
your God did to the Jordan just what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it
up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples of
the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might
always fear the Lord your God.

•• By His mighty hand God worked miracles, so that the people of this world
would know that the hand of the Lord is powerful...

•• ...and so that we might always fear the Lord.

Jer 1:9 Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me,
“Now, I have put my words in your mouth.

•• In visual symbolism we see the mighty hand of God inspiring prophets with His
word.

1Ki 18:45-46 Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy
rain came on and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. The power of the Lord came upon
Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to
Jezreel.

1Ki 18:46, KJV (literally) ...the hand of the LORD was on Elijah.

•• The “hand”-power of the Lord for superhuman acts

Psa 37:23-24 If the Lord delights in a man’s way, he makes his steps firm;
though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

•• God’s mighty hand upholds the righteous when they stumble.

Isa 41:10, Isa 41:13 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for
I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my
righteous right hand.... For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your
right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.

•• No fear, no dismay! God holds our right hand and will help us.

John 10:27-29 My sheep...shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my
hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can
snatch them out of my Father’s hand.

•• We can find safety and security in the hands of God the Father and of Jesus
Christ.

Acts 4:29-30 ...Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and
wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.

•• The mighty hand of God brings healing and performs miraculous signs and
wonders.

Acts 13:8-11 But Elymas the sorcerer ... opposed them and tried to turn the
proconsul from the faith.... [Paul said] “Now the hand of the Lord is against
you. You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the
light of the sun.” Immediately mist and darkness came over him....

•• By His mighty hand God judges the enemies of the Gospel.

Acts 11:20-21 Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch
and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord
Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and
turned to the Lord.

•• The Lord’s mighty hand brings evangelistic success.

Psa 98:1, KJV O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvellous
things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.

•• In case your personal need was not covered above, remember that the mighty
hand of God is available, ready, and willing to bring you the victory that you
need!

Preached at Abbott Loop Community Church, Anchorage, Alaska, February 5, 1978


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 7: S. THE SPIRITUAL GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ARE FOR TODAY
========================================================================

The Spiritual Gifts of the Holy Spirit Are For Today by Pastor Jim Feeney, Ph.D.

Speaking in tongues? Prophecies? Healings? Discerning of spirits? These and
other supernatural signs and spiritual gifts were commonplace occurrences in the
early Church. On that the Bible record is clear. But should we expect such
spiritual gifts in our churches today? A growing number of Christians responded
“Yes!” to this question during the twentieth century and up to the present time.
The first half of the twentieth century saw the emergence of many of today’s
large Pentecostal denominations, with the associated manifestation of various
gifts of the Holy Spirit. In the second half of the twentieth century, the
Charismatic Movement led millions more Christians in non-Pentecostal
denominations to embrace the present-day validity of these spiritual gifts.

However, man’s experience and beliefs by themselves do not establish doctrine.
That is the prerogative of the Bible. In the balance of this study, we will
examine a number of Scripture verses which support the ongoing validity of the
gifts of the Spirit throughout the Church Age.

-------------------------------------------

1Co 12:4; 1Co 12:7-11 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same
Spirit.... (7) Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the
common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to
another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith
by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another
miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between
spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another
the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same
Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines. This list
comprises what Bible teachers commonly call the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit.
In the order listed, as translated in the King James Version, they are:

• the word of wisdom • the word of knowledge • faith • gifts of healing • the
working of miracles • prophecy • discerning of Spirits • divers kinds of tongues
• the interpretation of tongues

Biblically knowledgeable Christians readily admit that these supernatural
spiritual gifts occurred in the first century Church, as recorded in the New
Testament. The question that is raised by some, and which is at the heart of
this study is: Are these spiritual gifts still occurring today? I reply with a
heartfelt “Yes!” to that question, and I invite you to consider the following
Scriptures in support of that belief. (Bold text throughout this study is mine,
added for emphasis).

-------------------------------------------

Mark 16:15-18 [Jesus] said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good
news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but
whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those
who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new
tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly
poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick
people, and they will get well.”

These verses, along with the companion verses in Mat 28:18-20, are known as the
Great Commission. These words of Jesus make it quite evident that the Great
Commission is intended for the entire Church Age, stretching from Jesus’ First
Coming to His Second Coming. Consider the following:

• Jesus commissioned the Church to “go into all the world” with the Gospel (Mat
28:15). We are still in the process of fulfilling that command in this, the 21st
century.

• Jesus commissioned the Church to “preach the good news to all creation” (Mat
28:15). That, too, we are still in the process of fulfilling.

• Those to be affected by the Great Commission are “whoever believes...” (Mat
28:16). “Whoever” would encompass all believers in every century.

• Supernatural signs - including speaking in tongues, driving out demons, and
healing the sick - were promised to accompany the Great Commission. That is, the
Gospel preached “to all creation ... [in] all the world ... [to] whoever
believes” throughout the Church Age is to be accompanied by the supernatural
spiritual gifts of God.

• In sum, the Great Commission throughout the centuries since Jesus’ death and
resurrection involves preaching the Gospel of Christ, accompanied by God’s
confirmation with supernatural manifestations - (Mark 16:20) “And the Lord
worked with them andconfirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.”

-------------------------------------------

Mat 28:19-20 ...go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey
everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very
end of the age.” This is Matthew’s record of the same Great Commission that we
just looked at. Consistent with Mark’s account, we see that “to the very end of
the age” we are to “teach them to obey everything” Jesus commanded them,
including His commands to heal the sick, to cast out devils, etc.

It is vitally important that we Christians of the 21st century understand that
Jesus intended the Great Commission to be pursued throughout the Church Age as
He originally established it - that is, WITH accompanying supernatural signs.
Sadly, for too much of history, the Church has been content to try to reach the
world with the preached word only, thereby violating the Apostle Paul’s great
declaration: “Our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power,
with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction” (1Th 1:5).

-------------------------------------------

1Co 1:7-8 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for
our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so
that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. (underlining
mine)

Recall our opening list of the spiritual gifts given by the Holy Spirit, taken
from 1Co 12:1-31. Here the apostle Paul is opening this same epistle by assuring
them that they will lack no spiritual gifts all the way “to the end”! Contrary
to teaching in some modern circles, the early Church was promised that all the
way to the end of the Church Age, up to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ,
they would “not lack any spiritual gift.” Millions of Christians around the
world today continue to believe straightforward Bible promises from God like
this one, and they are personally receiving gifts of the Spirit and seeing them
regularly manifested by God in their midst - exactly as promised!

-------------------------------------------

1Co 2:4-5 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words,
but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not
rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.

Today as then, it is vitally important that our preaching of the Gospel be
accompanied with a “demonstration of the Spirit’s power.” Such demonstrations in
Paul’s ministry included healings and miracles, along with other gifts of the
Holy Spirit. This principle still applies today. That is, the faith of those we
lead to Jesus Christ must not rest on the skill and wisdom of our words, but on
the Word of God confirmed with genuine manifestations “of the Spirit’s power.”
In other words, the supernatural gifts of the Spirit provide Christians in every
century with powerful testimony to the reality of the Gospel we preach.

-------------------------------------------

John 14:11-12 ...at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I
tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing.
He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

Jesus promised that believers (not just apostles) may do the works that He did,
and even greater, because He has returned to the Father and given us His Spirit.
Ministering your spiritual gifts is very much a part of "full gospel" ministry.
Christ’s disciples in the early Church did indeed do the works that He had done.
They healed the sick, raised the dead, cleansed the lepers, cast out devils, and
more. But note that Jesus’ promise was not just to the disciples of that first
generation, but to “ANYONE who has FAITH IN ME.” If you have faith in Jesus,
then in His Name YOU can heal the sick, cast out demons, etc.

------------------------------------------- Rom 11:29 God’s gifts and his call are IRREVOCABLE.

God’s charisma are irrevocable. The Amplified Bible says: “For God’s gifts and
His call are irrevocable -- He never withdraws them when once they are given.”
The Greek word here for “gifts” is charisma, from which we derive our English
word “charismatic.” The Bible is assuring us that the charismatic gifts, the
gifts of the Holy Spirit, are never revoked or withdrawn when once they have
been given. In fact, the bible encourages us to increase in spiritual gifts.

-------------------------------------------

Heb 2:4 God also testified to [our great salvation] by signs, wonders and
various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his
will.

Jas 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father
of the heavenly lights, who DOES NOT CHANGE like shifting shadows.

God the Father does not change, including in His giving of spiritual gifts. He
confirmed the preached Gospel in the first century with “signs, wonders and
various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit.” And He who “does not change”
confirms the same Gospel in the 21st century with the same supernatural
manifestations.

------------------------------------------- Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ is the SAME yesterday and TODAY and forever.

Jesus ministered in power, signs, wonders, and miracles in the first century.
And the Bible clearly records Him empowering the early Church to minister with
supernatural manifestations and spiritual gifts. Well, Jesus is the
“same...today.” Jesus has not changed. As in the early Church, so today He
empowers His followers to minister in the power and the gifts of the Holy
Spirit.

------------------------------------------- Gal 3:3 Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?

KJV: Having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

Jesus began His Church in the power of the Holy Spirit. He will bring His Church
to maturity and completion in the same power of the Holy Spirit, not by “the
flesh.” The early Church was born of the Spirit and baptized in the Spirit. They
ministered in the power of the Holy Ghost and manifested the supernatural
giftsof the Spirit. But as Paul notes above, even in the first century there
began adrift away from living and ministering in the Spirit to living and
ministering in “the flesh,” that is, by man’s human abilities.

Some segments of Christianity in our day have made this same error - that is,
believing that “human effort” can successfully accomplish Christ’s Great
Commission. To correct this error, Paul called them back to remembrance of their
beginnings “by the Spirit”. That is my desire in this study - to call the Church
back to its beginnings, when the word of God was preached and confirmed in the
power of the Holy Spirit with signs, wonders, miracles and gifts of the Spirit.

-------------------------------------------

1Co 13:8-12 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease;
where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is KNOWLEDGE, it will
PASS AWAY. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when PERFECTION
COMES, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I
thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put
childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then
we shall see FACE TO FACE. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as
I am fully known. This portion of Scripture has been used by some allegedly to
prove that the gifts of the Holy Spirit ceased at some arbitrary time long ago.
In fact, these verses prove exactly the opposite! They are among the New
Testament’s strongest references to the continuing validity of the spiritual
gifts. Will prophecies, tongues and knowledge “cease ... be stilled ... [and]
pass away”? Certainly. These verses clearly declare that. But the relevant
question is WHEN and in what sense? The answers are clear from the very text
itself - that is, in the perfected state that occurs upon the Second Coming of
Jesus, not before.

1Co 13:10 says “...when perfection comes...” As of today, some twenty centuries
later, this has not yet occurred. Jesus is the Perfect One. “Perfection ...
comes” to us at His Second Coming, when we see Him “FACE TO FACE”! (1Co 13:12)
Then, when we see the Perfect One “face to face,” tongues will be stilled,
prophecies will cease, and knowledge will pass away. But in what sense will they
“cease ... be stilled ... [and] pass away”? This is a crucially important
question. The answer is given in 1Co 13:12, using the specific illustration of
“knowledge ...[which 1Co 13:8 says is to] pass away.” 1Co 13:12 shows us that
knowledge as we know it now “passes away” NOT in the sense of going from some to
none, but in the sense of going from “know[ing] IN PART” (1Co 13:9) to
“know[ing] FULLY” (1Co 13:12). This well-known portion of Scripture says nothing
about the gifts of the Spirit ceasing in the sense of disappearing. The flow of
thought, as clearly illustrated in 1Co 13:12, is that spiritual gifts that are
partial now (tongues, prophecy, knowledge...) will go not from partiality to
zero, but from partiality to FULLNESS. For the entire Church Age we can expect
to “know in part and [to] prophesy in part” (1Co 13:9). Then, at Jesus’ Second
Coming, “when PERFECTION COMES, the imperfect disappears” and that which has
been “in part” will (1Co 13:12) be brought to fullness!

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1Co 1:7-8 Therefore you do NOT LACK any SPIRITUAL GIFT as you eagerly wait for
our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the END, so
that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. (underlinings
mine)

Let us close with this Scripture that we examined earlier. Paul wrote to this
Corinthian church about the gifts of the Holy Spirit (1Co 12:1-31). He showed
(1Co 13:1-13) how those spiritual gifts would continue during the Church Age in
their partial, incomplete state and then would be brought to fullness at the
Second Coming of Christ. And Paul (1Co 1:7-8 above) clearly encouraged his
hearers to expect to “not lack any spiritual gift ... to the end,” right up to
the “day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” And that is my encouragement to the Lord’s
Church today. Preach the Word of God. Teach the Word of God. Share the Word of
God in your personal testimony and witnessing. And expect God to confirm His
word with “signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit”
(Heb 2:4).


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Source: https://sermonindex.net/books/writings-of-jim-feeney/
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