CALVARY ADVISOR



Thy Kingdom come Thy Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven

 


 

Once Jesus was in a certain place praying as he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples."  So He said to them, "When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as [it is] in heaven. Luke 11:1-2


                         

 

The concept of Thy Kingdom Come is rarely taught over the pulpits. For over twenty years I have sadly seen many Christians fall by the wayside in their walk with the Lord because of the lack of proper biblical education regarding our purpose in God’s parallel universe concept.  This concept is taught in the Lord’s Prayer when Jesus said “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” For many today this might seem be a foreign concept but in fact its roots are Biblical.

 

Salvation is exclusively paid in full by the Blood of our Savior Jesus Christ, it’s a free gift. “For by grace you have been saved through

faith, and that not of yourselves; [it is] the gift of God,”(Eph 2:5-8) But the life we live after salvation will reflect all eternity.

 

Dr. Charles Stanley in his book: Eternal Security said, “Some believers will be entrusted with certain privileges; others will not. Some will reign with Christ; others will not (see 2 Timothy 2:12; Revelation 3:21). Some will be rich in the kingdom of God; others will be poor (see Luke 12:21, 33). Some will be given true riches; others will not. Some will be given heavenly treasures of their own; others will not. Stanley ends by saying, “Privilege in the kingdom of God is determined by one’s faithfulness in this life . . . It is true that there will be equality in terms of our inclusion in the kingdom of God but not in our rank and privilege.”

 

The   Apostle  Paul  writing  to  he   church  at  Corinth      anxiously

stated: “For we must all appear before the Judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, where it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror [Gk, phobos] of the Lord, we persuade men...” (2 Corinthians 5:10–11). Paul also said: “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God!” (Hebrews 10:31).

 

The Judgment Seat of Christ is often referred to as invoking “the Fear of the Lord” or “the Terror of the Lord.” Rightly so, it will be a fearful thing to stand before the Lord as He scrutinizes our lives.  James 2:13 tells us that if mercy does not mark our dealings with others here on earth, mercy will probably not mark our own personal judgment there either.

     
                  

Maybe now we can understand a little more clearly why Paul was concerned about this judgment and why he said: “Having been declared righteous and justified at our new birth so that we might escape the wrath of God does not exempt us from being chastised on judgment day. God will pronounce some very harsh judgments on the unfaithful Christian who has allowed the cares of the world, the temptations of the flesh, and the wiles of the devil to overtake him and lead him into carnality. Just as an unfruitful branch is cut off from the tree, so these Christians will suffer the loss of rewards and the casting out from fellowship. This is why Paul exhorted us to judge ourselves now, so that we will not have to be judged then (1 Corinthians 11:31). An honest, daily self-judgment is necessary in order to avoid the penalties of the Bema Seat of Christ. God will faithfully reward those who have sought Him with all their hearts and also recompense those who have left their first love.

 

“In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honor, and some to dishonor” (2 Timothy 2:20).

 

Gold symbolizes sovereignty and eternal things; wood symbolizes earthly and temporal things. In this Scripture believers are likened to vessels in a great house. Some will be there to honor, and some to dishonor. The idea is that in the Millennium we should not presume that we will all be alike. We won’t be. It doesn’t stand to reason that Paul the apostle, who labored more than many of the others, would receive the same degree of glory or responsibility as the thief on the cross who was saved only one hour before he died.

 

At the Bema Seat, believers will find out exactly where they will be for the next thousand years. Will they enter the Millennial Kingdom but not receive an “inheritance from the Lord”? Or will they be sovereigns (inheritors) there and receive positions of authority and responsibility? The outcome will be on the basis of their faithfulness, sanctification, and obedience. There will be no equality. All will be “in the kingdom,” but some will occupy positions of honor and glory, while others will miss out on positions of responsibility altogether.



 

Each of us will “reap what we have sown” at the Bema Seat (Galatians 6:7). The Lord will use the following criteria to judge us: Were our works done by the power of His Spirit or were they done in the flesh? In other words, what was the source of our strength and who actually produced the work in our lives?

 

Our labor our works of righteousness must be motivated by His Life in our hearts and then produced in our lives by His ability and His power, not our own (John 3:21). If this is the case, then we will be “clothed with righteous deeds” (Revelation 19:8). Whereas… if the flesh is the source of our works, then we will produce unfruitful works and be found naked (See Revelation 3:17; 16:15).

 

Whenever you mention doing good works, it seems to send shivers down some people’s backs. Why is that? It’s simple. Many Christians get “justification,” which is a free gift from God and requires no works at all, mixed up with experiential “sanctification,” which results in doing good works by the power of God’s Spirit. “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

 

If our “works” are prompted by the Holy Spirit and then performed by Him (even though no one else sees), those works will withstand the fire at the Bema Seat and the believer will be rewarded. “If any man’s work abide which he hath built there-upon, he shall receive a reward” (1 Corinthians 3:14; see also Revelation 22:12).

 

If, however, our works are done with the self-centered motive of being seen by men and applauded by them, then that becomes its own reward. There will be none other (Matthew 6:1).


The bottom line is: in order to have “confidence” at the Judgment Seat of Christ, Scripture tells us we must not only learn how to allow the Spirit of God to perform “good works” in our lives, but we must also learn how to allow Christ to “con-form us into His image.” Then, our Love (which is really His Love) will be made perfect and complete through us. (1 John 4:17)

 

Sadly, today many have lost or near been taught that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. (Palms 111:10) This does not mean we are to be fearful of Him because He is an angry God and wants punish us. It simply means we should have reverence, respect, and awe toward Him in everything we do, knowing He is watching, knowing He is taking detailed notes, and knowing He will be talking to us about our each and every move.

 

God is not only a loving God, He is also a just God and His justice demands a review of the lives of all of His children (Psalm 89:14; Ecclesiastes 12:14; Romans 2:5–6). This justice will be administered according to the quality of our works (2 Corinthians 5:10; Revelation 2:23). And a prize or a reward will be given for faithful service and for work well done (Matthew 5:12).


                        

God's desire for all who know Him is for us to become more like Christ. We do this by first growing in our knowledge of Christ. It stands to reason that we cannot grow to be like someone we don’t know. The deeper our knowledge of Christ, the deeper our understanding of Him, and the more like Him we become. Among other reasons, we are to know and understand Christ so that we will be secure in the faith.

 

The Apostle Paul reiterates this truth in Ephesians 4:14-16: "Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." This fact is repeated once more in 2 Peter 3:17-18: "Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen." These passages show us that growing in the knowledge of Christ will preserve us from faith destroying error.


                    


Of course, knowledge alone will not produce a Christ like character, but produces an educated sinner. The knowledge we gain from God’s Word must impact our hearts and convict us of the need to obey what we have learned. Romans 12:1-2 tells us emphatically that the process of filling our minds with the knowledge of God not only brings us closer to Christ likeness, but obedience to that knowledge aligns us with the perfect will of God: "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is his good, pleasing and perfect will."


The natural consequence of knowing and obeying God is that He becomes greater and greater, while we become less and less as we yield control of our lives to Him. Just as John the Baptist knew that “[Jesus] must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30), so the Christian grows to reflect more of Christ and less of his own nature. Luke sums it up best when he describes what Jesus told His disciples: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it" (Luke 9:23-24). The cross was an instrument of death, and Jesus encourages us to take up our cross in order to put to death our old sin nature upon it. God wants us to forget about this world and all its temporary pleasures and be obedient to His Word. Jesus is the living Word (John 1:1), and the Bible is God's written Word. Therefore, conforming to the Word of God is conforming to Christ.


It is important to realize that becoming more like Christ starts by receiving Him as Savior from our sins. Then we grow in our knowledge of God by reading the Bible daily, studying it, and being obedient to what it says. This process causes us to grow and occurs over an entire lifetime in Christ. Only when we have entered Heaven for eternity with God does this process reach its culmination.

 

Believers in Christ really have two lives. One is called the old nature “self-life” which is our soulish life made up of our natural thoughts, emotions, and desires that are usually contrary to God’s Will.  (The life we had before becoming a believer.)  The other life we enjoy as believers is called God’s life which is made up of His supernatural Love, wisdom, and power. (The life we received after we were born again.)

                       


In order for God’s light to radiate from our hearts, we must continually choose to put off sin and deny ourselves.  In other words, we must choose to stay clean and consecrated for the Lords work.  The Light (God’s Holy Spirit) is always in our hearts if we are born again, but it’s our choice whether or not we share it.    Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all [who are] in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.   (Matt 5:14-16)


     

 

God does not only teach us how to live through His Word, He also gives us the power to live through His Spirit.  Paul prayed for the saints at Ephesus to know this kind of power. “For this I bow knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of who the whole family in heaven and on earth is named, that He would grant you, according to His riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man.” (Eph 3:14-16) 

 

Strengthening the inner man gives you the ability to do God’s Will in your life, therefore fulfilling the Lord’s Prayer Thy Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.