The Kingdom of God

Paul Ross

Jesus sent his apostles out and gave them power and authority over demons and diseases; telling them to preach the kingdom of God. You see, you can't preach the reality of the kingdom of God without a display of its power over the kingdom of the devil. Preaching the message of the kingdom of God cannot be divorced from the power and authority of that kingdom. If it's preached without a living display of it's power and authority over demons and disease than it's not the preaching of the kingdom of God it's just theology or Christian humanism. When we are bringing the message of the kingdom of God to the people we must display the power of that kingdom so the people will know that the kingdom of God is not just a theological concept of good intentions that religious people want to propagate. If one kingdom is breaking in than the present kingdom that has been established by power must be overthrown by a greater power for that's the only way that a new invading- kingdom can secure ground. It can only take ground through a show and display of power that is greater. Now, in this case, the old-kingdom - existing management - was established and built under the dominion of the kingdom of Satan and the rule of that kingdom is death, sickness, disease; and the enforces of this dominion and rule are demons so when the kingdom of God is preached through Christ's servants these demons, that hold people in fear, bondage and sickness are the first to react to the exposing and overthrowing of their own dominion over men and these power encounters and struggles are exactly what we see in the preaching of Christ wherever he went.

He was the first one to announce the advent of this kingdom with evidence of its arrival and his followers after him have been bestowed with the task of advancing the authority and presence of the kingdom of God wherever their feet shall so tread in the decree of the great commission of the Church. We as Christ's disciples have been divinely commissioned to go into the entire world and to enforce the power of that kingdom in Christ's name. That puts us in the front lines in a holy war but the victory of his Church has been decreed to prevail by God Himself, of course their will be martyrs and battles for the people of God but the victory has been divinely predetermined. When one looks around the world at all the beauty of nature (mountains, rivers, stars, flowers) one can easily slip into a state of mind that thinks this life as a kind of paradise; but the truth is that paradise has been lost - long since receding into the background while the kingdom and dominion of sin, sickness and disease, fear and prejudice, war and hate, slavery and addiction, witchcraft and perversion run the show. This is the dominion of the old kingdom; and the kingdom of God has come to destroy its power. Jesus did not come to establish another religion but to bring in the authority and power of the kingdom of God and the disciple of Jesus is the servant of that kingdom's authority in the earth. We are the channels of the kingdom of God in Christ's stead; moreover, he has not sent us in the world alone but is with us is Spirit and power confirming our words in his work. The kingdom of Satan is built on the structures of fear, intimidation and domination but we are full of might by the Spirit of the Lord and the one present in us is greater than he that is in the world. And this is the victory over the world, even our faith. Whenever we come up against, sickness, disease, and spiritual power in peoples lives we come up against power structures entrenched by demons. Furthermore, these demonic powers are set in place through spiritual blindness and unbelief. Unbelief is the realm and dominion of their power and sin is empowered through this unbelief. Satan's weapons of choice are doubt and fear but the weapons of God are faith and love. Doubt is the devil's domain; for through doubt and unbelief he can secure his dominion over a man and defeat him from the inside- out. Medical science that is rooted in a naturalistic and materialistic worldview is operating from a position of blindness for it understands not, nor is it able to see or discern the true and unseen cause of sickness and disease.

This women who Satan has bound for eighteen years, said Jesus, regarding the women bent over, is a fact medical science is knows nothing about. They are fighting the works of the devil through naturalistic means because of unbelief. Humanistic Psychology also tries to fight the evil in the world while denying its real existence. Neither has it understood the mystery of iniquity at work in the human heart. Furthermore, psychiatry tries to deliver people from the bondage of supernatural oppression and harassment while denying the reality of demons and medicating the devil's victims with brain numbing drugs all because they do not believe. Drug addicts are medicated and alcoholics are placed into humanistic fellowship groups that make them patients for life. And as far as purity and morality is concerned the government condones almost any life style choice perversion, excluding paedophilia. The world is in no position, and has no authority, to bring any real change for the good because it's in the grip of the devil's unbelief. It creates inventions and congratulates itself for astounding technologies but is on the losing end in regards to the global increase of war, perversion, addictions and evil. It is failing because Satan cannot cast out Satan and that's why the kingdom of God is the only solution. This is why wherever the servant of God challenges the devil's power over the people his faith is his first weapon of power and authority over the demon's dominion over that person. Taking the shield of faith wherewithal he quenches all the fiery darts of the enemy. The word of faith and the sword of the Spirit wrecks great destruction upon the strongholds of darkness. We, as servants of God, have the greatest mission on earth; for we get to advance the power and authority of The kingdom of God wherever we go. It is the most wonderful occupation that the divine hand of heaven can share with us. Our prayer is: Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. We get to establish, and implement on earth, the dominion rule of heaven; and it begins as we overthrow the dominion rule of the kingdom of darkness as it is manifested in fear, sickness, disease and destruction. You see, it's a practical Gospel - where the rubber meets the road - in every day situations - in every day people - in every day lives. Their is no shortage when it comes to human need in regards to deliverance and liberation from the power and lies of the enemy of peoples souls. For this reason the Son of God was manifested to destroy the "works" of the devil, and further on, as Jesus said to the apostle Paul, to deliver the people from the power of the devil, and the kingdom of darkness, and to translate them into the kingdom of light. In this world our ministry opportunities are endless, in fact, the harvest is great and the labourers are few, said Jesus. So in reality, there are more ministry positions available than workers to take them. In other words the majority of the work is being done by a few while the rest of God's people are indifferent, or imperceptible, to the harvest staring at them in the face.

I think in this regards a lot of God's people have capitulated with the enemy; they have traded in the importance of the great commission and personal evangelism for the comforts and compromises of this present world. However, Paul said: woe is me if I do not preach the gospel. Furthermore, Jesus said: I must go and preach in other towns, for this cause was I sent, for I must be busy about my Father's business. Jesus exemplified a life of ministry and evangelism with his every breath and move. Moreover, he pressed the importance of this work continually on to his disciples. Beginning in Jerusalem unto the uttermost ends of the earth. Jesus said this gospel must be preached in all nations and than shall the end come. For God is not willing that any should perish, but that all men should come to the knowledge of the truth. In fact, the only reason why the world is still here is because the administration of Christ's work is still incomplete and the fullness of the Gentiles has not yet come in. Where we are in relation to that predetermined number I don't know but that is not our concern we need only get busy with the father's business.

The world around us is being shaken from every direction and the Son of God is encouraging us to do the father's work. Other sheep I have, not of this fold, said Jesus. For he is a light of revelation unto the Gentiles. For the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth, as the waters cover the sea. For Jesus is the stone cut out without hands that shall smash to pieces all the kingdoms of the nations. He is the stone which the builders rejected, but God has made him the chief corner stone. He is the Son of God, God's appointed ruler, who is destined to rule the nations with a rod of iron. The kingdoms and nations of this world may fight and war against him but they shall only dash themselves to pieces in their attempts. In their rejection of his pre-eminence they shall be brought low before the supreme sovereign rule of his throne, for every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
Missionary Work

Where did we get this idea that evangelism is something that only missionaries do? The twelve apostles were all missionaries. Paul was a missionary to the gentile nations, and Jesus, occupied all his time travelling from town to town preaching the good news of the kingdom. In fact, the apostles and Disciples of Christ understood that the message of the kingdom was one of proclamation. The sole work of the disciples was one of proclamation unto the ends of the earth. That message was not just one of word but also one of demonstration of the power of the kingdom of God in authority to the kingdoms and passing dominions of this world. Kingdoms and dominions hereto set-up by the spirits of the age over the nations in opposition to the rule of God. God revealed to the woman that the seed of her body would crush the evil ones authority and rule. Furthermore, and all down through history, God for-told -  through the prophets - of one that would come and legally overthrow the dominions of Satan and establish his everlasting kingdom of righteousness throughout the whole of the earth. Christ's appearing marked the event of that prophetically revealed takeover and sparked terror into the foundations of all dominions. It is worthy to note that in the Old Testament we do not see demons crying out - we do not see the expelling of demons- however, in the New Testament it happens everywhere.

The reason for this is that with the advent of Christ; the power of the kingdom of God on earth had broken-through, and the spirit world was reacting to its arrival. You see, the demons are not coming. No! They have been here all along, right under our noses, working incognito - under cover -building their structures and sowing their hates and prejudices in men's hearts. Now, after the ascent of Christ the advancing and proclamation of the kingdom of God would move forward by the power of the great Holy Spirit through Christ's servants to the ends of the earth. This gospel shall be preached to all nations, than shall the end come, declared Jesus. We need to remind ourselves that Christianity, at its grass roots, is solely a missionary enterprise; as trod out, practised, and exemplified by its founder. We, as servants of Jesus, have the great Holy Spirit upon us to advance his dominion over, and against, the spirits and kingdoms of this present age. The Spirit upon us is the great Holy Spirit; and his power is doing the work of God on the earth. He is present with us, speaking through us, and working through us as the great power of God. He works with us as the presence, and Spirit, that reveals the secrets of the people’s hearts and delivers the people from the powers of the kingdom of this present world. The power of the kingdom of God advances through evangelism and proclamation; through the servants that delight in God's will. These servants are the Moses and Joshua's of this generation. They are men of faith, and people of the great Holy Spirit. They are men of faith; so therefore, signs follow them and work around them. These men/women are the servants of God that walk on the high places of the earth. They are not alone for ministering spirits (angels of God) walk with them and direct them in their paths. They are not interested in religion but only in the works and acts of God; seeing the hand of the Lord stretch out to heal and change lives. These men see straight through the farce of religion. Religion and programs kill the people. However, as long as their are dead men with no faith religious farces will continue. But the show must go on and playing religion until we die is very comforting for those living in unbelief.

Author Profile

Paul Ross

Paul Ross, author of "The Case against Skepticism", is a Christian apologist (defender of the faith) and has spent the last 20 years researching and engaging in intellectual arguments for the faith. Paul’s unique - signature style - of incorporating the revelatory gifts of the Holy Spirit; coupled with the punch of intellectually persuasive reasoning skills makes him a formidable opponent against the elements of deception in a society and culture that has largely rejected God.  Paul is a strong family man, and the proud father of two lovely daughters. He currently lives in Brisbane, Australia and is in a position of leadership in a local Brisbane church. Paul’s emphasis and passion in ministry is to encourage Christians everywhere to dedicate their lives to purity - and the power of a life in the manifested presence of the resurrected Christ.

“Paul’s words have the potential prophetic impact of that of a modern day St Augustine in their contribution to the present body of faith literature.”
- Wendy Sargeant (Award-winning author &Information specialist for, Australian National University.

Website:www.heavenlywhisper.com

The Gospel Of The Kingdom

Dean Taylor

Everywhere I go church leaders and pastors are talking about and wanting to embrace what Jesus preached while He was ministering personally on the earth – the Kingdom of God. It’s almost like there is a divine conspiracy at foot in this season of the church.  Across the denominations people are talking about this fact: the church is not the kingdom, the church is only part of the kingdom. All over, believers are coming to realise that the kingdom actually supposed to happen outside the church (service and building) most of the time. Not only that but Christians are realising also that there vocation in life is just as much kingdom ministry as teaching the kids at church.

Salt Light and Yeast

Jesus said we were to be salt, light and yeast in society. The church at large in the west has segregated the life of faith from the rest of life. This is because we have equated the church with the kingdom. So when we come “to church”, after a couple of hours we then “leave church” and go home and do life.  God is raising up leaders and getting a move of understanding going concerning this truth that when we “leave church” we are actually stepping into our kingdom mandate. The kingdom field is where you go Mon-Sat. And Gods purpose for us is to extend the kingdom that Jesus bought into the rest of our world. He told the disciples to pray, “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Well, what is God’s will? His will is that both individuals and the nations be free and live in the liberty of the Kingdom. His will is that believers (actually disciples) are to take their kingdom yeast and effect the dough that is their sphere of influence. This has been our purpose right from the beginning in Gen 1:26 – go and have dominion and rulership.

Extend His Kingdom

The truth of the matter is that God wants His will, His righteousness to spread into every sector of society because His will is that His creation live in as much of His abundant life as possible. Sure, He has a kingdom for us to inherit at the end of this age but He is not a powerless, small minded, and limited God who had His plans dashed in Gen 3 with the fall of man in the Garden. God is not just killing time till Jesus’ second coming. No! Our God is bigger and more able than that and has always had the same plan for man and the Earth even in the midst of what the dark kingdom tries to do. He wants to infiltrate all the sectors of society so His righteousness has its way as much as possible. Why wouldn’t HE want His will to be done in His creation? He owns it all.

Put The Salt On The Meat

Why did Jesus say we would be salt? What does salt do? Salt seasons and flavours “things” so they don’t taste the same anymore. They taste very different. If we are salt in society then shouldn’t society and its culture moulders taste different year after year? Jesus said “but if the salt loses its saltiness then it’s no use.” How can salt lose its saltiness? If it’s not being rubbed on the meat (of society). If it is still in the shaker(church) then it is of no use.

God is waking up the Body of Christ to realise it’s time to get together and form bands of yeast, salt and light which prays and strategizes how they can make a difference, bringing change and transformation in their world/sphere of influence so that Kingdom/ God’s will be done and righteousness has a bigger part of the fabric of their society. He is stirring different ones to lead the charge to draw people who will stand for righteous change where unrighteousness prevails in their area, where the oppressed need releasing and the captives set free.

God Is Raising Up Kingdom Reformers

Where corrupt systems have had their day in the sun, God is exposing and dismantling demonic strongholds that the church has not touched in a long time. Favour and promotion is being given to his reformers who will give their lives and energies to make inroads into satanic bastions of occupation. God is moving and disciples are seeing the harvest AND the culture as legal targets for Kingdom yeast to affect the batch.

We only have one life to live. If we do not embrace this kingdom mandate that is growing we will not fulfil the reason God filled is with His Holy Spirit and baptised us with His power. Not living according to our purpose means we will always live with an abiding sense that we are not fully aligned with our created purpose and there will be a shallowness of feeling in our soul. I urge you in this month’s letter to begin, if you haven’t, in understanding and pursuing your part of the kingdom gospel.

Author Profile

Dean Taylor

Dean grew up in Newcastle, NSW surfing the beautiful beaches and playing on many sporting teams throughout his young life and into adulthood. He was born in 1967 and raised in a Christian home, attending a Baptist Church where he accepted Jesus as his Saviour in 1978. Upon finishing a science degree at university Dean worked in the cardiology unit at the John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle before returning to do a diploma in teaching. It was around this time that he experienced the call of God on his life to ministry and while teaching at a Christian high school he had a transforming experience of the Holy Spirit which consequently altered the direction of his life.

Dean married his wife Wendy in 1993 and they moved to Brisbane in Jan. 1995 where he studied at the Baptist Theological College of Queensland. Graduating from there with a Diploma in Ministry, they were then led to Kenneth Hagin Ministries on the Gold Coast in 1997, where he completed studies before entering into itinerant ministry in 1999. During this season Dean was given a fulll time instructors position at Rhema Bible Training Centre which he filled until moving into a teaching/pastoral position at Destiny Church in 2003 which he continues in today.

Dean's home church is affilliated with Harvest International Ministries Australia one of the Apostolic Networks in a group known as the Revival Alliance. While continuing in his role at his home church, Dean has been directed by the leading of the Lord to also serve the wider Body of Christ.  Operating in the ministry of prophetic teaching, his mandate and passion is to help pastors mature the Body of Christ so her individual members can come into their God-given destiny.  His desire is to see God's children skillfully applying Jesus' Kingdom principles by bringing them practical, revelatory insight in a fresh, dynamic and understandable style. His heart is to see the Body of Christ being built up in strong faith and operating  in greater demonstrations of the Kingdom.

Dean and Wendy live on the Gold Coast with their daughter Darcie.

Website: www.deantaylor.com.au | Article Archive: here | MP3 Messages: Shop

THE HUMANITY OF THE KINGDOM

Graham Buxton

The Kingdom of God is not just some future spiritual reality to look forward to, something that takes us outside the world in which we live today. Ultimately, of course, it is that – but it is more. It also has to do with the present reality of Jesus in our midst, and what we do with this Jesus who is deeply involved in the structures and fabric of this world.

If Jesus’ teaching in the gospels opens us up to the true nature of the Kingdom of God, then Paul’s letters teach us about how we are to live in the Kingdom. In a nutshell, Kingdom living has to do with our relationship with Jesus Christ.

Now what has happened – and the church has a lot to answer for this if we take a broad historical perspective – is that the contours of the Kingdom have been narrowed down to spiritual realities at the expense of a more holistic and more generous understanding.

If pastors in our churches really want to help people become more spiritual, more Kingdom-minded, they need to help them become more human – not just more in touch with God, but also more in touch with themselves and more in touch with creation. The Kingdom of God has to do not only with the God of creation, but also with the creation of God.

The purpose of life on earth is to give glory to God by living as humanly as possible! We must not be so heavenly minded that we are of no earthly use! Hans Kung, the well-known Catholic theologian, was once asked why we should embrace Christianity. His reply was: “So that we can be fully human.”

To help people to live as full human beings in the Kingdom of God is the ultimate goal of pastoral ministry … and this means living as Jesus lived – in fulfilling relationship with God, with others, and with creation … for each represents what it means to be at home. For the Kingdom is here and now, not just that which is to come. We are created to live fully and joyfully here on earth … not to endure this earthly life until we are released into the ethereal bliss of heaven!

In this article I would like to suggest that many Christians need to rediscover the Kingdom of God precisely because they have lost its true meaning. In the gospels there is much that Jesus taught about the Kingdom of God. To the Jews, of course, the concept of the Kingdom was highly significant. Before the Jews were exiled to Babylon, the great prophecies of a coming King in Isaiah were interpreted as a literal fulfilment to come on earth. In other words, it was seen by the Jews as a present possibility. But after the exile, indeed quite probably because of the exile, the conviction grew that if God wasn’t going to act inside history then perhaps the way to understand the Kingdom was in terms of the future. And so we have this idea of the dramatic inbreaking of God in the person of a heavenly Son of Man, bringing in his wake a Kingdom that was outside history … so Daniel 7 and the imagery of an “Ancient of Days.”

Now, by the time Jesus came on the scene of human history, this spiritual vision had become very secular and nationalistic too. The Jews fully expected that God would come and rescue them from the powers of this present evil age and establish the new redeemed community in “the world to come.” During Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, with palm branches laid before him, the people cried out: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming Kingdom of our father David!” But in Jesus we see – and many Jews failed to see – that the Kingdom of God has come in the here-and-now. In fact there are three great truths about the Kingdom of God that are disclosed in Jesus Christ:

1. The coming of the Kingdom in advance of its full and final manifestation – the Kingdom is both now and not-yet.
2. The coming of the Kingdom in the person of Jesus himself.
3. The hidden and secret nature of the growth of the Kingdom – so Jesus taught about the Kingdom in various parables … the mustard seed, and leaven in the dough.

The Kingdom of God is therefore not just some future spiritual reality to look forward to, something that takes us outside the world in which we live today. Ultimately, of course, it is that – but it is more. The Kingdom of God also has to do with the present reality of Jesus in our midst, and what we do with this Jesus who is deeply involved in the structures and very fabric of this world. And if Jesus’ teaching in the gospels opens us up to the true nature of the Kingdom of God, then Paul’s letters teach us about how we are to live in the Kingdom. In a nutshell, Kingdom living has to do with our relationship with Jesus Christ.

Now what has happened – and the church has a lot to answer for this if we take a broad historical perspective – is that the Kingdom of God has been interpreted by many in purely spiritual terms. The contours of the Kingdom have been narrowed down to spiritual realities at the expense of a more holistic and more generous understanding. The famous 5th century church father, Augustine, once summed up the essence of true spirituality in the words noverim te, noverim me – they are in Latin, and mean “may I know you, may I know myself.” Not just knowing about God, but knowing God intimately, personally. Then, and only then, do we truly begin to know ourselves. Actually, good though Augustine’s phrase is – and it is good – it may be misleading, for it suggests that our spiritual life is defined solely in terms of our vertical relationship with God … full stop. Keep your eyes firmly fixed on God, gazing heavenwards – like the pilgrim Christian in John Bunyan’s celebrated Pilgrim’s Progress – and you’ve attained ‘true spirituality’. In my new book, Celebrating Life, I seek to demolish that myth.

In The Travail of Nature, Paul Santmire invites us to imagine that we are climbing a mountain. There are two alternatives that we are asked to consider as we make our way up the mountain: either we keep our gaze firmly fixed upwards, unaware of all around us as we journey towards the transcendent light above; on the other hand, we may choose to look around us as we make the journey, our eyes drinking in the beauty and glory of the mountain scenery … look up or look around. The first perspective – which Santmire describes in the metaphor of ascent – implies a form of spirituality that takes us not just towards God, but away from nature, away from the physical world around us. The second metaphor, that of fecundity (or lush fruitfulness), invites us into an awareness and appreciation of the rich goodness of creation. The second alternative suggests that, in the words of Sally McFague, we need to be not just supernatural Christians, but ‘super, natural’ Christians!

Recently I came across the following definition of spirituality:

“Spirituality can be described as the whole of our deepest religious beliefs, convictions, and patterns of thought, emotion and behaviour in respect to what is ultimate, to God. Spirituality is holistic, encompassing our relationships to all of creation – to others, to society and nature, to work and recreation – in a fundamentally religious orientation. In relation to God, it is who we really are, the deepest self.” (Anne Carr, in a book entitled Exploring Christian Spirituality).

What I like about this definition is that it is all-embracing. It has both breadth and depth. Deep, because our lives are grounded in the depths of God himself. And broad, because the life of this God reaches into every part of his creation. 

In recent years I have developed a keen interest in the relationship between science and Christianity. The general impression gained by many people today is that science and faith are diametrically opposed: science deals with facts and religion deals with – to put it as charitably as possible – untestable dogma. Science is objective: faith is subjective. It is commonly thought by many Christians that science will inevitably shipwreck faith. Understandably, this idea has caused many Christians to have a negative view of science. The result is that they fail to appreciate what science can say to us about this marvellous universe in which we are privileged to live.

Notice, I am not talking about scientists, but science. There are some scientists who are biased against faith, none more famously so than the arch-critic of all things that have to do with religious faith, Richard Dawkins – his book The God Delusion has been a runaway bestseller in recent months. And then there are others who are sympathetic … and there are more scientists who are Christians than you might think. What I want to emphasise here is that science is essentially neutral. The goal of science is to help us to discover why the universe is as it is. I am a pastor at heart, and I am grieved that many pastors fail to appreciate the value of science in demonstrating the amazing features of God’s creation. And so I decided to do something about that, and eventually published a book on the topic in 2005.

My starting point was the Trinity, and my basic thesis is that God has brought into being, at both the human and the non-human level, a creation that reflects his relational, trinitarian nature. Not only do you and I exist as relational beings, interconnected with one another, but the universe is also shot through with interconnectedness – and this is something that science is beginning to show more and more – cosmically and ecologically: from stellar galaxies to tiny microscopic plant life. We could call this God’s ‘creation-community’, a community of both creatures and environments contributing to a ‘web of life on earth’. I am not a scientist, so as I studied these things I found myself on a very steep learning curve when it came to things like quantum mechanics and chaos theory!

And, of course, there is more to all this – in a very profound way, you and I are connected to creation. In fact, I believe that to become a person in the fullest sense is to cultivate a spirituality that gets in touch with physicality – our own physicality, and the physicality of the world around us. This is one of the unique gifts of contemporary Celtic spirituality. If pastors in our churches want to help people become more spiritual, they need to first help them become more human – not just more in touch with God, but also more in touch with themselves and more in touch with creation … The Kingdom of God has to do not only with the God of creation, but also with the creation of God – though the two are distinct, they are not to be separated – let’s think about that a little more.

As Christians rightly insist, there is a distinction to be made between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world. However, at times it is hard to distinguish Christians from everyone else, which was not the case with the early disciples of Jesus, who turned the world they knew upside-down. As Christians we are not meant to blend into society, unnoticed and indistinct from everyone else; we are called to be salt and light, making a difference in the world. That’s what Kingdom living is all about. Christians are not meant to be unnoticeable in society – we are called to be salt and light, making a difference in our world! Someone once said that Christians in the world are sometimes chameleons, fading into the colour of the culture, sometimes ostriches with heads in the sand avoiding all contact, and sometimes porcupines, confronting others with hackles raised!

Making a difference in our world – Kingdom living – implies that there is a duality to be acknowledged. Jesus said: “whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). There is light and darkness, right and wrong, good and evil. But what has happened is that all that is light, right and good has been identified with one side of ‘reality’ (= the church) and all that is dark, wrong and evil with the other side of ‘reality’ (= the ‘world’). The result is that many Christians have adopted a ‘siege mentality’, hauling up the drawbridge so that there is little real intercourse between the church and the world. Instead of celebrating all that is good in the world, some Christians view the secular world as unspiritual, even to be avoided.

Early on in the life of the church all sorts of wrong ideas about the world in which we live began to take root. It’s called dualism, and it has a lot to do with Plato, whose ideas have infiltrated the church over the centuries. Dualism has robbed many people – and many Christians – of the joy of life in God’s good creation. Simply put, dualism says that life is divided into two compartments, the holy and the unholy, or the sacred and the profane: for one compartment – obviously ‘holy’! – read ‘church’, and for the other (‘unholy’) read the ‘world’. As I prepared for ordination, I experienced family and friends voicing their views about the fact that I was now ‘going into the church’, as if previously I was somehow ‘out’ of the church! At the same time others despaired that I was leaving the ‘real’ world for some kind of spiritual asylum.  We so easily divide life up into two realms, with a whole lot of false opposites. We pit sacred against secular, faith against works, church against world, soul against body, heaven against earth, prayer against politics, creeds against deeds, and so we could go on.

Some sections of the church need to repent of the narrow dualism that avoids any form of genuine contact with the world, a suffocating dualism that can treat God’s creation as intrinsically contaminating rather than intrinsically wholesome and good. There are some wonderful lines in Aurora Leigh, Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s nineteenth-century verse-novel of early Victorian life in England:

… Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God:
But only he who sees, takes off his shoes,
The rest sit round it, and pluck blackberries …

Consider the distinction often made between heaven and earth. Some Christians – most, in fact – assume that the purpose of life on earth is to prepare us for heaven, like batting practice for our future! That’s a false analogy, and far too spiritualised. It is more correct to say that the purpose of life on earth is to give glory to God by living as humanly as possible! Hans Kung, the well-known Catholic theologian, was once asked why we should embrace Christianity. His reply was: “So that we can be fully human.” Spirituality and humanity go together – they are not to be pulled apart – in fact, I would go so far as to say that our Christian maturity could be measured not by how ‘spiritual’ we are, but how fully human we allow ourselves to be! What is our ultimate destination, as Christians? … Our ultimate destination is not heaven – it is the new earth that will represent the final act in God’s great redemptive purposes.

God’s original plan was for us to live eternally with him in the creation that he brought into being through his mighty power – expressed in the wonderful language of Genesis 1 and 2. In a book called Heaven is a Place on Earth, Michael Wittmer writes these great words: “ … the Christian hope is that our departure from this world is just the first leg of a journey that is round-trip. We will not remain forever with God in heaven, for God will bring heaven down to us.” This is precisely what John is saying to us in his vision in Revelation 21:2: “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,” followed by these wonderful words: “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them.”  Notice that – heaven comes down to earth, not the reverse! Earth, once shamed and denuded, is replete with the glory of God.

So heaven is where we shall be until that great day when the new creation of Revelation 22 unfolds. The point is that you and I are not really made for heaven – there is, as Michael Wittmer says, one thing better: “to kneel in the presence of God with the bodies he created us to have in the place he created us to live.” In fact, you might say that but for sin we would not be going to heaven! … if there had been no sin, then humankind would be forever alive with God in his original creation. So we might as well get used to our bodies, and the reality of God’s good creation, because that’s what eternity is going to be like! I think C S Lewis had a profound understanding of the physicality and naturalness of the new earth that is our eternal home-to-be in The Last Battle, as well as in The Great Divorce.

Many people ask the question, “What on earth am I here for?” In the American TV series Everybody Loves Raymond, Ally, Raymond’s daughter, asks some questions about the origin of life. The typically inept Raymond thinks she is asking about how babies are made. Eventually he discovers that she is far more interested in why we exist at all. She asks: Why are we born? Why does God put us here? If we all go to heaven when we die, then why does God want us here first? Why are we here, Daddy? … Good questions, aren’t they? Poor Raymond fumbles around for a while until he blurts out a totally silly answer – God put us on earth to ease the heavenly congestion! It must be crowded up there, so God created this planet as a temporary measure until he could free up more space for everyone! … That’s the complete opposite of what I am trying to convey here – earth isn’t a temporary stopping-place for us … it’s our real home.

My answer to the question “What on earth am I here for?” is simple: “You are here to enjoy God on earth!”: To live in God’s image means to experience the joy of life in God, life with one another, and life in relationship to God’s creation. Classical Christianity has given prominence (rightly) to the first, acknowledged the second, but in large part ignored the last of these three. In the gospels we are all familiar with the story of Jesus calming the wind and waves. This story is significant because it reminds us that there is a clear distinction between Jesus and the created order – no confusion here between God and nature that we find in some contemporary spiritualities. In this incident we see clearly that Jesus is God, and the creation is not.

But notice this: God and the real world cannot be separated, even though they are distinct. The problem with some Christians is that they draw the line in the wrong place: rather than drawing a line between God and his creation, recognising that they are distinct, they become dualists and draw a line separating the physical from the spiritual. We do it all the time: we create false opposites, and then pit them against each other … church against world, the spiritual against the physical, creeds against deeds, and so on. Think about Jesus – he was perfect man, as well as God in human flesh. He lived in perfect loving relationship with his Father and with the Spirit – as Trinity. Luke 2:52 reminds us that he grew in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and with those around him. His life was one of compassion and integrity in relationship with others. He loved in a way that marked him out as exceptional. In him the Kingdom was revealed in all its glory and wholesomeness.

And his relationship with creation is expressed powerfully in his mastery over the created order – but he did not exploit creation for his own selfish purposes … rather, he related to creation in order to bless others. He turned water into wine, and multiplied loaves and fishes. His Kingdom teaching invites us to consider the birds of the air and the grass of the field. Throughout his life, he treated creation as something of value – he gave it its own intrinsic integrity. As a man, he was at home in this world. To live as full human beings in the Kingdom of God means to live as Jesus lived – in fulfilling relationship with God, with others, and with creation … for each represents what it means to be at home. For the Kingdom is here and now, not just that which is to come! I close Celebrating Life with this exhortation: let us, with discernment and wisdom, participate with others in their enjoyment of life, partner with those who seek to liberate the oppressed, and celebrate all that is good in God’s world. This is Kingdom living in all its fullness!

Author Profile

Rev Dr Graham Buxton

Rev Dr Graham Buxton is Director of Postgraduate Studies in Ministry and Theology at Tabor Adelaide and Adjunct Professor of Pastoral Ministry at Fuller Seminary in the USA.

He has had a wealth of experience as a pastor and teacher, both in England and in Australia. Before entering the pastorate, he was engaged in marketing management with Shell-Mex & BP Ltd in London, followed by lecturing appointments in marketing and logistics management at Leeds Polytechnic (1971-1972) and the University of Bradford (1973-1977).

Graham is an ordained Anglican (1983), with extensive experience also in lay pastoral ministry. Prior to emigrating with his family from England to Australia in 1991, he was Vicar of St Pauls, South Harrow.

His recent research activities have focused on the relationship between the science-theology dialogue and Christian pastoral ministry, with particular emphasis on the contribution of trinitarian theology towards a more constructive engagement between the scientific and faith communities.

He is the author of Dancing in the Dark: The Privilege of Participating in the Ministry of Christ (Carlisle UK: Paternoster, 2001), and The Trinity, Creation and Pastoral Ministry (Milton Keynes UK: Paternoster, 2005). Graham’s latest book, Celebrating Life: Beyond the Sacred-Secular Divide, which was published in mid-2007, reflects his passion to encourage people to enjoy the gift of life by receiving with thanksgiving all that is good in God’s world.

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