The Spiritual Kingdom In The Natural World
Ron McGatlin
(Note: If you find this message hard to accept at the moment, please do not quickly throw it away and stop your subscription. Please allow the Holy Spirit and His word time to work in your spirit and mind. I don’t know how much longer I will have to bring the word of the kingdom before my departure, and there is great urgency in my heart to get this word to you. If it does not work for you just now, please hold on to it and review it again at a later date. - Ron)
The great deception of the separation of spiritual and natural matters is one of the greatest mountains of enemy stronghold in the minds of men yet to be overcome by the truth of the kingdom of God. The rejoining of the separation between spiritual kingdom and natural living is perhaps the most difficult transformation we yet face. To me it is an intense longing and difficult burden. I weep for the many men and women who receive the inner kingdom of God with excitement and rejoicing but are stopped cold from flowing into the outer kingdom of natural life.
The mindset of centuries of religious training has blocked many of us from the vast reality of much of the kingdom of God. We accept the spiritual things which we deem to be holy and separated from the rest of life in this world. Even many who are coming into the reality of the kingdom of heaven on earth freeze up when encouraged to equally value and participate with the same heart in the things of the outworking of God’s kingdom into natural matters.
Col 3:23-24: And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.
We relate well to the gospel of the kingdom in things like prayer, praise, worship, miracles, divine healing, benevolence, preaching, Bible study, missions, revival, prophesy, spiritual gifts, meetings, and other spiritual things that deal primarily with the inner kingdom and the propagation of it. These and other spiritual things are vital to the kingdom of God. Obviously the kingdom of God is first within the seedbed of the hearts and lives of God’s people. Certainly, these spiritual things are primary and foundational to the experience of Christ and His kingdom coming forth in His people on earth.
However, these types of things are only a part of the kingdom. The spiritual inner kingdom is preparing His Bride to transform and restore the world. This involves all people and all natural systems of the world eventually being governed by God according to His order and His ways.
Jesus will have a purified holy Bride that will function as His Body governing the workings of God and man on Planet Earth. We are born again, filled with the Spirit, and grow to maturity in Christ for a purpose beyond our personal spiritual relationship. We are to rule and reign with God in natural creation according to His plan, principles, and purpose by His love, wisdom, and power flowing through our humbled and obedient lives as we walk in His Spirit in the natural world. The works of the Bride of Christ are described in Prov 31:10-31.
Rev 5:10: And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth."
Rev 11:15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!"
Being in the world but not of the world has to do with origin or source of life and its purpose. It means being separated from drawing life precepts and principles from the fallen world and joined to receiving life from Christ Jesus and His kingdom from heaven. We are to bring the patterns of heaven to redeem and change the people to replace the fallen world systems. The principles and precepts of the kingdom of God applied in the lives of people will change families, cities, nations, and eventually the world. The kingdom of God is much bigger than religious church and its governing systems. The kingdom of God is the rule of God from heaven on earth governing the ways of life in all areas of human and natural matters.
Mat 6:10: Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
John 17:16: "They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
John 15: 19: ...Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world,...
It is possible to separate "religious church" and state. However, it is not possible to separate God’s rule from state or any other aspect of life in the world. Either there will be blessings in compliance to God’s ways or difficulties and failure in not adhering to His ways. God’s kingdom from heaven on earth is to include all business, governments, education, and all facets of life in the world. All these matters are to be governed and empowered by the Spirit of God. There is no separation of natural and spiritual life in the real kingdom of God. Redeemed holy people of God, dead to self and alive in Christ, will naturally seek and follow God’s leadership principles and specific directions in business, governments, and all facets of life as they walk in the Spirit. This is the redemption of natural ways of life from the fallen world’s ways. God’s ways and purposes for business and all life will reign. God will be our God and abide among us.
Mat 24:14: "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
This is the goal, the end or objective that Christ Jesus came to redeem and provide for mankind and Planet Earth. This is the gospel of the kingdom He preached and demonstrated as He planted the seed of the kingdom of heaven on earth. But, there is a problem to be overcome in this day to open the way toward the fulfillment of the ministry and work of Jesus.
Religion has blinded our minds to the truth of the gospel of the kingdom.
Sadly, the people of the world and most Christians including many moving into the inner kingdom relationship are yet blinded by religious blockages. They may have the baptism of water from sin and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. They may be able to hear God’s voice and obey what they hear, yet, they cannot hear areas of truth because of remaining blind spots.
Religious traditions that were originally derived from doctrines of demons have permeated the heart soil of many Christians creating hardened hearts with major rocks of hardened beliefs of erroneous concepts. The Bible word is interpreted with distortion and the Spirit word is blocked by the blind spots created by believing erroneous religious teachings, Matthew 13.
One most grievous error that continues to limit the greater fullness of the real kingdom is the firm belief that the kingdom of God is at this time only available in the inner man and must wait for the bodily return of Jesus and the destruction of Planet Earth before the kingdom can really come. This planet is considered a write-off to be disposed of and never redeemed. Mankind will only get worse and worse with no hope of practical redemption for the planet or man in this life. This error includes that man must live in battle with his old sin nature all his life and wait till heaven to really live free of sin and its curse and that man can never really become true sons of God as Christ is in the world but only sons in a sort of figurative or symbolic way (1 John 4:17) (Rom 8:16-17). Business, governments, education, and other world activities are evil and are allowed to be ruled by the devil until Jesus comes back bodily to take us out. For some it is also included that certain people are substandard and limited in practical kingdom life function. Distinctions are made between Jews and Gentile, male and female, and other classifications or casts of peoples.
Gal 3:26-28: For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
In the absence of the leadership of the Holy Spirit and the loss of the word of the gospel of the kingdom, these heart-breaking, grievous beliefs developed in the apostate church shortly after the departure of the apostles. They were devised largely for the purpose of control of the people and the benefit of the upper echelon of the hierarchy of religious church. The English and other translations of the Bible were in some places distorted by the firm beliefs of the translators affected by all these grievous erroneous teachings. Therefore, these are all based upon the improper interpretations of the "word of God." The enemy of the kingdom did not stop there but has continued to devise false teachings in the minds of man of untrue kingdom concepts in an attempt to divert the advance of the true kingdom. In addition, the enemy has infiltrated the modern religious systems with the ways of the fallen world. So, considering all this, if this is not a mess, it will certainly do until a real mess comes along.
Acts 20:29-30: "For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. "Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.
The Kingdom of God has nothing to do with the new age view that all men are getting better and better. The fallen world things will get worse before they get better. Mankind and the fallen world systems have indeed continued to grow worse and will continue to do so.
2 Tim 3:1: But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come.
2 Tim 3:2: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
2 Tim 3:3: unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,
2 Tim 3:4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
2 Tim 3:5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
God will clear the land of the old fallen ways as the kingdom of heaven ways flow into the world. The fiery cataclysmic judgments described in the Bible will come forth to destroy evil. The day of the Lord judgments bringing destruction of evil wait only for the people of God to be prepared and in place to replace the fallen world systems with the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. There must be a genuine presentation of the true kingdom of God offered to all peoples. All must have the opportunity to accept or reject the real gospel of the kingdom and not just a religious facsimile or incomplete gospel. Personal destinies will depend upon the individual’s decision to honor or reject Christ Jesus as Lord and King of this world. However, the destiny of the world is to become the kingdom of our God.
Heb 2:10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
Keep on pursuing love.
It never fails.
Ron McGatlin