Kingdom Disciples

The church has been infiltrated by deceivers that are misleading many believers and causing not a few to apostatize. This comes as no surprise since Jesus and his apostles warned us about coming false teachers and faux prophets who are intent on disrupting the church and leading the church astray.

Jesus appeared in Galilee and began to proclaim the Kingdom of God – “ Repent, for the kingdom is at hand .” In his ministry, the reign of God was invading the earth. However, this realm was of an entirely different nature than the political systems of the world, and on more than one occasion, he refused the kind of political power that dominates this present age.

One day, John complained because someone who was not from among Christ’s inner circle of disciples was casting out demons in his name. And if this outsider was casting out demons, then it was God who was doing so through him. John’s complaint is rich in irony since just a few verses earlier the disciples found themselves unable to exorcise demons because of their unbelief.

In writing to the Corinthians, Paul outlines the events that will occur at or shortly before the “ arrival ” or ‘ parousia ’ of Jesus, one of several Greek terms applied by him to Christ’s future coming. Regardless of which term is used, he always refers to one “coming,” “revelation,” or “appearance” of Jesus at the end of the age, not two.

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul addresses a growing danger. Certain “ men from Jerusalem ” claim that Gentiles must keep the deeds of the Mosaic Law to “ complete ” their faith, or at least, some of them. They are “ compelling Gentiles to Judaize ” by adopting circumcision, calendrical observances, and perhaps the Levitical dietary restrictions.

A theme threaded through the gospel of Mark is the inability of men to recognize Jesus as the Son of God until AFTER his crucifixion, and even then, and most paradoxically, he is called the “ Son of God ” by the unlikeliest of persons, the Roman centurion on duty at his execution. His self-identification as the suffering “ Son of Man ” made him unrecognizable to unregenerate men. He was and is the kind of Messiah no one expected, and his identity and mission cannot be comprehended apart from his sacrificial death.