Kingdom Disciples

The New Testament usage of the term “ assembly ” is based on the language and imagery of Israel when the nation was assembled before Yahweh for worship in front of the Tabernacle. The Greek noun rendered “ church ” in many English translations is ekklésia . It means “assembly, congregation, convocation.” In secular Greek, it could refer to an “assembly” of citizens gathered to conduct matters of state. However, that is not the sense found in the Greek New Testament.

Disciples wage spiritual warfare through right conduct, acts of love, and proclaiming the gospel . “Spiritual warfare” is a common topic in popular preaching, an idea derived from Paul’s words to the church in Ephesus - “ Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood but against the principalities and powers… against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places .”

The Gift of the Spirit is clear evidence that a person has been justified by God and made a part of His covenant people. In Galatia, “ false brethren ” were preaching “ another gospel ,” one that claimed Gentiles must be circumcised to “ complete ” their faith. Paul would have none of it, and he appealed to the presence of the Spirit among uncircumcised Gentiles as proof positive of their justification and acceptance by God.

The gift of the Spirit given by Jesus to his disciples is part of God’s covenant promise to bless all nations in Abraham’s seed . After the Day of Pentecost, Peter and John prayed for a man who was “ lame from his mother’s womb ” as he begged for alms near the Temple. Rather than money, they commanded him to stand up and walk “ in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth .” Immediately, he began to walk. Afterward, he was seen and heard “ leaping and praising God .”

After predicting his death, two of the disciples began jockeying for positions of high status in his coming Kingdom. Thinking according to the ways of this world with its concepts of political power, they did not comprehend what kind of Messiah Jesus was and remains, and therefore, what it meant to follow him “ wherever he goes .” However, in Jerusalem, he would soon demonstrate just how one achieves “ Greatness ” in the Kingdom of God.

The Book of Revelation graphically portrays the ongoing cosmic conflict between Satan and Jesus that manifests itself in the daily struggles of the “ Seven Assemblies of Asia .” On Earth, the agents of the “ Dragon ” execute his attacks on the people of God, especially the “ Beast from the Sea ,” the “ False Prophet ,” and “ Babylon, the Great Whore .” This “ war ” is waged by the Devil with deception and compromise even more so than outright persecution and violence.