Spring, 1992
Perhaps
no other phrase is fraught with more controversy
or produced more
misunderstanding in the body of Christ of the
present generation (except for
the phrase "word of God"). The term brings to the
surface the hidden
tension with which the body struggles as it is
forced to live in two worlds at
the same time. Now as in the past, new voices are
being raised urging the
Church to take its (debatably) right place of
influence in world affairs, to
stop withdrawing and start confronting, to stop
resting and start occupying, to
stop focusing on future hope and start focusing on
present influence.
As
the Church and the heavenly Kingdom of God come
closer and
closer each generation to their ultimate
manifesting, each generation hears
that voice raised in a new way, one that reflects
the immediate state of
attained manifestation. And inevitably the voice
is challenged each generation,
"How much
confronting? What kind of
occupying? What do you mean by 'influence'?"
These are
the predictable questions that have been and are
now once again raised, drawing
battle lines of conflict. The conflict over
kingdom teaching reflects two main
realities:
1)
No matter how far we think we've arrived, there's
an ongoing degree to which we
haven't arrived. For if we had arrived in totality
of manifestation, there
would be perfect unity (one of the hallmarks of
arrival) hence, no conflict;
2)
In our remaining state of "unarrival" we are still
subject to
extremes. Conflict exists not on account of those
with well-grounded balanced
perspective between present possession and future
hope, but on account of those
who are either so futuristically minded in such a
way that their immediate
presence on the planet is rendered null, or those
so presently minded that their
concept of God's kingdom is shorted out and
reduced to a mere redefining of the
world's essential life course in Christian terms
and symbols.
To
sum, the presence of controversy itself over
kingdom teaching shows that the kingdom of God has
indeed come into manifestation
among us, yet not perfect manifestation in such a
visible way as to defy all
question. The purpose of this article is to
convert some of this heat into
light.
In Christ…from the Inside Out
True
dominion teaching is an "inside-out" theology. It
recognizes that all
definition of the kingdom of God is traced to the
work wrought in the heart of man, from which all
else springs. It does not
center on the actions of converted men or on their
relationship to that which
is around them. Such have meaning only in light of
the kingdom heart from which
they come.
What
supernatural
powers may manifest in accordance with this
process are also not
the essence of the kingdom. Though such fire,
wind, and earthquake may be of
Him, the essence is found in the still small
voice. This is the difference
between "manifestations of the kingdom" and
"Kingdom
Manifestation."
The
key phrase is the phrase "in Christ" found in
Ephesians and
Colossians to describe the subduing of all things
to be brought together in
(under) Him. What is "in Christ"? This is inner
man heart reality and
conversion. All things have to go through or
result from the purging process of
inward regeneration and sanctification found only
in Christ to be considered so
brought together in Him.
Thus
"all
things" does not refer to anything not so subdued.
If it isn't
come through this process, it is not "brought
together in Christ." It
is not under Him. Christ only rules from the
inside out. Whatever is outside Christ
in this way is outside His kingdom and cannot be
considered part of it in any
but the most general of ways.
For
this
then, whenever we speak of the Kingdom or its
expansion, we must take our
reference point from the inside out. Otherwise, we
are not talking about God's
manifest Kingdom. Whatever does not descend from
the inner knowledge of God is
not of His kingdom, even if it is under His
peripheral control (as all the
universe is now and always has been -- including
satan.)
Foundation, Conduction, Goal
When we are
talking about the kingdom, we
are looking at a foundational essence, a means by
which that essence is
executed and carried forth, and the goal of that
execution:
·
The foundation is the work of
Christ
(sovereignly distinct in identity)
·
The conductor is the knowledge of
God
through the work of the cross in us—rooting out
the knowledge of good and evil
·
The goal is transformation into
the
complete image of Christ—unto a new body like His
glorious body.
False Kingdom Teaching: a Matter of Subversion
The
foundation or the goal: If the devil can't destroy
us in one of these, he will
seek to destroy us in the other. The preeminent
issue under consideration at
this time is kingdom teaching, i.e., false kingdom
teaching.
False
kingdom teaching short circuits true faith by
subverting the goal of faith. It
removes the goal from transformation into Christ's
image (unto ultimate
physical transformation) and puts it into
earth-focused manifestation of the
demonstrable power of God (i.e., impersonal power)
in its ability to affect
earthbound situations. It removes worship from the
person of God to the force
of God, thus, making a god of force.
In
false kingdom teaching, the knowledge of God
becomes supplanted by the
knowledge of power, exercised through the
knowledge of laws (physical or
spiritual) rooted in the knowledge of good and
evil. Hence, the conducting of
transformation into Christ-likeness through the
work of the cross is replaced
by the conducting of natural effort (physical.
mental, or spiritual) to carry
out the requirements of the certain law or
principle (of God) that will produce
the desired forceful effect. This is the work of
the flesh under the spirit of
control-manipulation,
known also as witchcraft.
False
kingdom teaching is built upon a false foundation
that compromises the
sovereignly unique identity of the Church
established by the purchase of
Christ. It fails to recognize the mutual
exclusivity of the identity of the
people of God as a called out body from the
original carcass of a dead world.
As a result, it seeks to use the benefits that
emanate from the process of
redemption to convert or reform the body politic
of natural society within its
own dead temporal context without calling it out
of itself.
False
kingdom
teaching seeks to mingle eternal life with natural
life as if to become
an alternate life support system for a dead
natural life.
The effect of this is to produce a chaotic,
hybrid effect in which natural society becomes
garbed in Christian dress which
is then abused by that society unto the shaming of
the name of Christ. Though
dressed in this superficial righteousness, the
society remains essentially
unchanged, yet is now become inoculated against
genuine conversion.
Assessing a Right Kingdom Focus
Does
all this mean that true kingdom teaching has no
vision for or effect upon the
present world? Absolutely not. The difference
however is in direction of focus.
In true kingdom teaching, vision for earth and
effect upon it is rooted and
grounded in
1)
foundational
awareness of distinct identity,
2)
commitment
to personal inward change through the separation
work
of the cross according to that identity,
3)
focus
upon the goal of transformation into the image of
Christ
unto physical translation through the knowledge of
God.
According
to true kingdom teaching, as the people of God
remain transfixed upon the goal
of their transformation through the conveyance of
the knowledge of God, not
only will true vision for the earth be birthed,
but the genuine power of God to
effect that vision will emanate forth from them,
spreading the savor of God's
presence in every place, a savor which produces
all the effects which false
kingdom teaching seeks to implement through direct
fleshly focus and
manipulation of legal forces. In true kingdom
teaching, the world is changed by
self-denying focus away from the world unto the
worship of the Lord.