Defining the Kingdom

By Robert L Jeffrey Sr

Defining the Kingdom will help guide readers through times of climate change, and national or international upheaval. Defining the Kingdom helps us reconsider how we view ourselves, our identities can no longer be tied solely to geographical boundaries, or to man-made denominations. Our allegiance as Christians should be to the principles of the Kingdom of God as defined by Jesus Christ and the Gospel narratives. In these narratives, the Kingdom is defined as a Kingdom of Love and Tolerance for all mankind.

• Language: English
• Publisher: OneOakes
• Release date: May 17, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201363734

Book preview

Chapter One

Defining the Kingdom

Genesis 4:16-24

And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch. And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech. And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah. And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt. If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.

Matthew 13:33

Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

Mankind has two primary ways to address reality. We can either address it instinctually or we can address it by means of revelation.

Revelation for the purposes of this discussion is defined as a surprising and previously unknown fact, especially one that is made known in a dramatic way. It is revelation existence that is the foundation for Kingdom living.

Living according to instinct, animal instincts, is primal living, evolutionary biologist E. O. Wilson, puts it this way, Man has an innate capacity to bond together to make societies, social systems … it’s not our brains or brawn that allows us to rule the planet. And like other behaviors that have helped us to survive and reproduce, the human ability to construct societies has become an instinct.

The case for man living instinctually is made in Genesis 4:16-1

Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.

Cain in this text represents the instinctual nature of man that drives him to construct a social order or a civilization. Therefore, according to this text instinctual civilization originates outside the presence of God because Cain had been driven from His presence before this civilization was formed.

There are three characteristics of instinctual living that must be defined: The first example of instinctual living sees cultural and tradition as ultimate to its presence existence. It seeks to achieve the historical purity of its present culture. The second example of instinctual living is that it seeks to co-op religious expression by making it the same as its cultural expression. It does not see religion as transcendent but rather an important support to its culture. The third example of instinctual living is that it stands in judgement of other cultures. It sees itself as dominant and other cultures as always subordinate.

The Kingdom of Christ comes to revive the power of the original Kingdom existence as described in Genesis. The ultimate purpose of the Kingdom of Christ is to subdue and replace instinctual existence, it does that primarily by modifying the evolved social suite of man.

The Kingdom comes as leaven, Matthew 13:33

"Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened."

This modification, and eventual transformation is essential, because at the core of instinctual civilization is the Cain and Lamech gene. This is the gene which leads Lamech to say in Genesis 4:24, If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold. This text describes the continuation of Cain murderous gene, that now inhabits in his son, Lamech and effected his instinctual existence.

The instinctual existence characterized by Cain and his descendants, is at its best, contrary to the way that God intends for His creatures to exist on this planet. It is contrary because instinctual living makes man a prisoner solely of the needs of his body, it is in many instances void of a moral compass. For meeting bodily needs alone are not enough to ensure the qualities needed to guarantee the survival of both man and the planet on which he lives.

There must be something transcendent that gives man the capacity to at some point sacrifice his self-interest for the sake of that which may be against what he may feel that he needs at a certain moment in time. In Luke 10:29, when ask the question, who is my neighbor? Jesus tells the story about a man who is robbed and thrown into a ditch. People from every aspect of the community walk by and look at him, but nobody stops to help. In the end the person who finally stops to help the man is a stranger who is unwelcomed in this very community, but he stops, and gives all the necessary assistance that the man needs. This is transcendent living.

According to Christ, it is this quality that is missing from instinctual civilization. Jesus defines this quality as Agape love, this is Kingdom love, the highest form of love. It is only this kind of love, that enables us to rise above our own self-interest, our own clan, our own traditions, or cultures, and seek the welfare of others. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr put it this way, "Modern psychology has a word that is probably used more than any other word. It is the word "maladjusted."

Now we all should seek to live a well-adjusted life in order to avoid neurotic and schizophrenic personalities. But there are some things within our social order to which I am proud to be maladjusted and to which I call upon you to be maladjusted. I never intend to adjust myself to segregation and discrimination. I never intend to adjust myself to mob rule. I never intend to adjust myself to the tragic effects of the methods of physical violence and to tragic militarism."

This statement by Dr. King demonstrates the problem that the Kingdom of God faces today. The mind-set promoted by instinctual existence, has so completely permeated the psychological and intellectual consciousness that even the bible itself is being used to justify the baser instincts of man. Instincts such as a predisposition for war, racism, xenophobia, and many other things that divide us rather than bring us together. For example, since 1914, when we engaged in the war to end all wars, there have been five wars that have led to the deaths of over 80 million people, and still today the world remains on the brink of war. In addition, many of the lingering scourges of the past are still prevalent across the world. We live in a world where nationalism is becoming the cry of almost every prominent nation in the world, as war and famine drives desperate families to cross geopolitical boarders to seek refuge.

As of 2016, there were 31.1 million new internal displacements by conflict, violence, and disasters. This is the equivalent of one person forced to flee every second. In addition, this report on global displacement states, there were 6.9 million new internal displacements by conflict and violence in 2016. Sub-Saharan Africa overtook the Middle East as the region most affected, with almost one million new displacements in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a result of violent clashes. There were also significant levels of displacements in the Middle East, with Syria, Iraq, and Yemen, which experienced two million new displacements in total during 2016. This is all evidence that the Kingdom as it is defined by Christ has been and continues to be met with resistance.

In Matthew 13, the bible informs us about how the teachings of the Kingdom will be met with resistance. For example, it states in verse 4, that some seeds will be eaten by fowls, domesticated birds, chickens or ducks. Then there are the seeds that fell by the wayside, the edge of the road. These are places that are the least traveled by those who are serious about kingdom living and kingdom work. The wayside is where the political or social fringe live their lives. These are the ones who use the kingdom as a cover for their nefarious dealings. Those who burn crosses, those whose confessional is riddled with prejudicial preferences, or divisive pronouncements. Then there are the fowls who operate on the perimeters of authentic New Testament teachings. Those, who while confessing Christ, use their confession as a weapon against anyone that they deem different from them. This we can designate as fowl religion; Religion that is weaponized against people that are different.

In addition, Matthew 13 states, that some seeds fell on stony ground. This can be defined as ground that is without water, or without spirit. In Galatians 5:22-23 states, "but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." These are elements that must fertilize and prepare the ground or the consciousness of a person or culture, for them to be able to embrace the teachings of Jesus about the Kingdom. The absence of such ‘fruit of the spirit’ renders the consciousness of a person unable to understand, see, or perceive the truth that the Kingdom seeks to promote. This invariably leads to Kingdom living that is void of the ability to practice the teachings of Jesus Christ. For example, Dr. King states in his ‘Letter from a Birmingham Jail.

"I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s councilor or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to order than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a more convenient season.

Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection". King goes on to say,

"Actually, we who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. We bring it out in the open, where it can be seen and dealt with. Like a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up but must be opened with all its ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light."

King believed as does the teachings of the Kingdom, that injustice must be exposed. Sin must be confessed; it must be exposed for the seed of truth to take root. It is when the ground of pride and pretentiousness is broken up that we can become true citizens of the