May Abellano – Hong Kong
22nd January, 2024
Prof. Meriam Kim
Biblical Studies – Assignment
1. HOW IS GOD EXTENDING HIS KINGDOM MESSAGE THROUGH YOU?
The answer is found in the scriptures. Since God is His word, it behooves us to go to
the scriptures to see what Jesus Christ meant.
Luke 17:20–21 Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God
would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with
observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of
God is within you.”
Everything Jesus says (all of scripture) is the word of God, He is the Word.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God.
Everything Jesus says is spiritual, and has a primary spiritual meaning. The Word is
also symbolic.
John 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I
speak to you are spirit, and they are life.
Rev 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—
things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified [symbolized] it by
His angel to His servant John,
So, Jesus Christ is the word of God and the words of God are spiritual words with a
spiritual meaning. God does not leave us hanging as to what these spiritual symbolic
words mean. He tells us what He means.
Heaven according to scripture is not a physical location “out there somewhere” that
we go to.
Luke 17:21 “The kingdom of God does not come with observation [you won’t see it
with your eyes]; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom
of God is within you.”
Heaven, according to scripture is the condition of our hearts/minds as Christ molds
us from out of darkness and into the light.
1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His
own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of
darkness into His marvelous light;
God is preparing YOU, your heart and mind, Heaven, where He dwells (if God’s word
is within you, His spirit).
Acts 7:48–50 “However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands,
as the prophet says: ‘Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. What house
will you build for Me? says the Lord, Or what is the place of My rest? Has My hand
not made all these things?
God is not preparing something “out there” for us. He’s preparing our hearts and
minds “heaven” for which He will place His throne and dwell within.
John 14:2 In My Father's house are many abodes; yet if not I would have told you, for
I am going to make ready a place for you.
1 Cor 3:16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of
God dwells in you? [remember what God’s spirit is… His word “My words are spirit”]
Eph 1:18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what
is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the
saints,
The Lord’s inheritance is in the saints. His throne is in Heaven within the temple of
God, whom you are… IF the spirit of God (His word) is working and dwelling within
you.
The idea that Heaven is a place we “go to” after we die is just a fable. The scriptures
never teach this. God is working on mankind. Not a temple somewhere “out there”.
When the Lord speaks about pearly gates and walls inlaid with gemstones and
streets of gold… those are all spiritual symbolic words to tell us what He is doing
within us. His inheritance (His word) is in the saints.
John 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I
speak to you are spirit, and they are life.
Genesis 1:26 Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness,….
This is continuous, it has not stopped. Heaven is being prepared within you, your
heart/mind... To come out of darkness and into light..
2. HOW ARE YOU FITTING INTO HIS OVERALL PURPOSE TO SPREAD THE
GOSPEL THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE EARTH?
Well, ‘preach’ simply means ‘announce’. Preaching doesn’t have to be in front of a
pulpit as many might say it is. One can preach, spread the message of the Gospel,
through music, through social media, etc. It is true that certain people have been
ordained by the Lord Jesus Himself as different members of the body of Christ - such
as apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors and teachers. But what are they
ordained for? The edifying of the body of Christ. That means the building up of the
body of Christ. Also, they are given to us for the work of the ministry. That means
every Christian has a ministry. Why? The Bible says that we have been given the
ministry of reconciliation:
'Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and
gave us the ministry of reconciliation, ' - 2 Corinthians 5:18
That means that every Christian (and a Christian is one who is born again) has
entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation: the Gospel. So it is an individual
responsibility (and ministry) for you to tell others about this Gospel. It is actually an
honour that God gave this ministry to us and not to angels, because we can tell
others about what Jesus did for us, which in all cases is the life transforming
information every human being needs. And look at what this verse says:
'Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal
through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ' - 2 Corinthians 5:20
An ambassador is an official envoy for a foreign government, or a foreign body that
is a messenger for that government/body in question. In other words, they are from
that foreign place/organization and represent that place. So that means that every
Christian is of God (hails from God) and represents God - Jesus - in the earth today.
We (Christians) are the highly esteemed envoys of the Kingdom of God in the earth
to others who do not know about the Gospel. This is why it is such an honour.
We are the ministers of the Gospel who have been given to build us up (train), so
that you understand the Gospel and are able to preach (announce) it to others with
the Holy Spirit giving you the right words to say. There is a phrase I like to use: “We
win them, build them and send them out.” Win souls to Christ, build them up in all
aspects of the Christian life and send them out to announce the Gospel to others.
Everyone who has learned about true Christianity should preach about God's
kingdom. It is our duty, obligation, and privilege to do so. It wasn't just a request or
suggestion by Christ, but a direct command! (Matthew 24:14; Matthew 28:19–20)
Matt 28:19 “ Go, therefore, and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the holy spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you. And look! I am with
you all the days until the conclusion of the system of things.”
To conclude, it is simply in a Christian’s nature to announce (preach) the Gospel to
others because that is what God has ordained and entrusted us to do. One can
choose not to, but it doesn’t mean they are right in doing so. Besides since God has
entrusted us this responsibility, we will have to answer before Him for what we did
with the Gospel He gave us.
3. WHICH PRACTICES IN ACTS AND THE REST OF THE NT SHOULD WE
DO TODAY?
There’s a great foundation for how our church today should function, but there’s
more these New Testament practices that we will do well to follow today.
Holy Spirit Power and Direction - Holy Spirit power is the missing element they
need before they move forward and advance the kingdom of God. In this, the
Holy Spirit plays a leading role. He’s prominent in the book of Acts, guiding the
early church and empowering its members.
The book of Acts mentions the Holy Spirit fifty-five times, with close to a hundred
references. It’s clear that the Holy Spirit acts in Jesus’s place to lead his church. For
Jesus’s church, the Holy Spirit is in charge. He leads their meetings and directs all
that they do. This is the first of our New Testament practices to follow.
Worship - This makes it clear that worshiping God is in our history, our present,
and our eternal future. Worship is the second of our New Testament practices. we
must worship God in truth. This means our worship must be honest, pure. To
worship God in truth suggests integrity.
This means that we don’t make a show of our worship to impress others or gain their
attention. That makes for disingenuous worship and doesn’t honor God. It doesn’t
matter what others think of our worship, it only matters what God thinks. We must
feel free to worship God as the Holy Spirit leads us. This is how we worship God in
Spirit and truth.
Prayer / Prayer Meeting - Prayer is the third of our New Testament practices.
(Acts 14:23; 21:5; Mt. 6:9-13; Eph. 6:17-18)
Prayer is an essential part of our faith journey and another of our New Testament
practices.
Fasting - To fast is to go without food for a time. This isn’t an act of mortification
to abase ourselves before God. (Mt. 6:16-18; Mt. 4:2; Acts 13:1-3 )and fasting is to
focus our thoughts on God, seeking to better connect with him and align our
thinking with his. When fasting, one recommendation is to take the time normally
spent eating and use it to pray and listen to the Holy Spirit.
Fellowship - The early church also spends a lot of time with each other. This isn’t a
once-a-week meeting for an hour or two. It may be an everyday occurrence (Acts
2:42, Acts 6:1, and Hebrews 10:25). We don’t live their faith in isolation. We need
each other. We thrive on community.
Also we practice Communion (Mt. 14:22-24; Acts 2:46-47), Tithing (Heb. 7:1-3), and
Healing (Acts: 3:1-10)
