Answering the question of the Pharisees, Lord Jesus taught the Kingdom of Heaven does not come with observation. And then He further told, that the Kingdom is already in their midst. But even today Satan rules all that is on the earth and God’s Kingdom is within each believer. Apostle Peter had faced severe attacks of the devil in his life and could confidently reveal the actual truth of the devil’s lies. He definitely roars like a lion to put fear in the hearts of his intended targets, but has no real authority over any of the believers.
Why does a believer fall prey to the devil’s attacks? The strategy that the devil and his forces of evil use, to trick and defeat someone is twofold. First, he convinces people that he is actually their only well-wisher on the earth who wants them to have what they deserve. His method is very simple, for he reminds one about his status and what should be his. Satan used the serpent to lure Eve into sin by starting a very innocent looking conversation by saying, ‘Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?’ (Genesis 3:1). Adam and Eve were well aware of their rights and responsibilities in the Garden of Eden and discussing that with anyone else would not change that. God visited them every day in the evening to guide and strengthen them, but she valued the serpent’s words more than God.
No one has any right over anyone other than the one we choose to give. Even God did not create mankind to be His followers without thinking, and has given freewill to decide. The two choices of ‘yetzer hara’ to do evil and ‘yetzer tov’ to do good are inherent to all. What we decide to do is on us, and for Eve to blame the serpent for having deceived her is trying to shift the blame (Genesis 3:12-13). Also Adam blamed Eve, whom God had given, for giving him the fruit to eat. Thus, Adam went a step further than Eve by blaming God also for giving him the companion, who led him into sin.
Second, the devil and his forces of evil keep a close watch over us and though he cannot read our thoughts, he analyses our behavior to see our longings of the heart. The tree was always there in the Garden and both Adam and Eve might have looked on that but out of fear did not get close. Satan gives us a cause to do what normally we would not do by providing an excuse that sounds absolutely right. Lord Jesus was alone in the wilderness without food for forty days and before that God, the Father, had Himself testified to His exalted status as His beloved Son who gave Him great joy (Matthew 3:17). The devil challenged that status only by saying ‘If You are the Son of God’ (Matthew 4:3; 6). First he pointed out His hunger which the Son should not suffer in His Father’s kingdom. Second, he urged Lord Jesus to adopt the shortcut to prove His Son-ship to the Jewish people in the Temple by jumping from the highest point and showing them His Divine status, through rescue by the angels.
A person suffering from poverty and lack is led by Satan into stealing as the right alternative, to take from the one in abundance. No one should blame God for tempting him for, ‘God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone’ (James 1:13). God understood the lack of a suitable help-meet for Adam to support, help and even oppose him from doing wrong and Eve was created. After King David sinned with Bathsheba, God, through Prophet Nathan, reminded him about all that was given to him (2 Samuel 11:8). God then rebuked him, ‘if that had been too little, I would have given you much more’. This is the way of the Lord with His people and those who diligently obey and serve Him, He promises them a life that is lived more ‘abundantly’.
Lord Jesus has given a definite promise to all believers, ‘Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full’ (John 16:23-24). Before this our Lord told them ‘in that day, (after resurrection and ascension), you will ask me nothing’ and the Greek word used here is ‘erotao’ which means seeking answers from a preferred position. In the second case, the word used is ‘aiteo’ which means to ask or request and the Father in heaven will answer. After His ascension they will no longer need information about anything, for the indwelling Holy Spirit would teach and provide all the answers. We do not get to use His name as a password to open any doors but as a guidebook to phrase our prayers in line with His ways and manner. We ask, firstly, to glorify God the Father through our prayers in His name and secondly, to be a blessing to others through our intercessory prayers. When we violate any of the ways of the Lord, we cross the boundary line of His kingdom and are prone to the tricks of the devil, just like Adam and Eve did and were moved out of the Garden of Eden.
Apostle John wrote the Gospel account and his three Epistles around 95-100 AD, when he had lived his life in full obedience to the teachings of the Lord. He could then assure us, who through our sinful nature continue to sin, ‘If we confess our sins, He (Lord Jesus) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness’ (1 John 1:9). King David could declare in faith, ‘The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped’. Satan has no right over God’s chosen ones for God ‘is the saving refuge of His anointed’. Continue to dwell under the guiding hand of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, and though trials will come, these will strengthen our faith and get us closer to God. Stay strong in the faith and resist the devil in His might.
Why does God allow Satan to trap us? The denial of the ‘Tree of knowledge of good and evil’ to Adam and Eve was God’s way of leading them to live as spiritual beings, filled with wisdom of heaven, that He Himself provided them daily in the evening (Genesis 2:17). The earthly knowledge is information that needs to be processed into wisdom with a worldly perspective. The fall caused a steep decline in their spiritual state into a sinful nature and vulnerable to evil inclinations. The Redeemer, through forgiveness of sins and cleansing with His blood, has redirected our focus towards God into a close relationship. But, our sinful nature still persists and we have the choice to walk in sin or life in God. Since we are prone to sin, and the devil, being ruler of this world, till his final defeat, has control over our environment.
Lord Jesus told the Pharisees that the kingdom of God is everywhere where the faithful are, not only in places that are supposedly holy. He turned the old beliefs upside down, since the Kingdom is where the king is. Since He was with the healed lepers, the deaf and even those afflicted and freed from demonic spirits, the Kingdom was among them. The Greek word ‘entos’ used here, is translated ‘within’ and also in your ‘midst’. The same word used by the Lord elsewhere is translated as, ‘inside’ of the cup and the dish (Matthew 23:26). After God, the Holy Spirit, dwells in a believer, the Kingdom is inside every believer. Lord Jesus revealed the purpose of His coming to give life and that too ‘more abundantly’ (John 10:10).The Greek word ‘perissos’ means ‘abundant, beyond measure, superior in quality and quantity both, more than expectation’. The presence of the Holy Spirit, ‘the Spirit of power, love and a sound mind’ (2 Timothy 1:7) in a believer is to fill him with His power to lead a righteous life and be a blessing to others. We as citizens of heaven are filled with this power from above to live as expected.
Like the Pharisees, John the Baptist, while in the prison, before his murder, also doubted. The Redeemer asked his disciples to go and tell John, ‘the blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the Gospel preached to them’ (Matthew 11:5). He quoted the prophecy of Prophet Isaiah about Him preached 700 years ago, as fulfilled in Him in His works. These are the blessings available to all believers to receive and also to overflow into the lives of others. Those who do not believe in the Gospel and the freely given salvation in the sacrifice of Lord Jesus Christ, have their eyes blinded by the devil to the truth (2 Corinthians 4:4). To such everything appears to be a lie and all available evidence in the Scripture and through the changed lives of millions of people over the ages, also seems to be a fabrication to deceive them.
The real way of living in the Kingdom of God was first taught by Moses to the Israelites when he gave them the most important command. He first said ‘Hear, O Israel’ and the Hebrew word ‘Shema’ is to ‘hear, understand, believe and obey’ (Deuteronomy 6:4-7). He then commanded them, ‘these words which I command you today shall be in your heart’. One who has not heard properly cannot fully understand the message and it will never become a part of him. Moses then told them to teach this to their children, ‘and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up’. When a person has not understood what the promise of God is about his life, how can he claim the same to receive and be blessed?
Lord Jesus said the same thing repeatedly, during His teaching sessions (Mark 7:16). At the Transfiguration of Lord Jesus, God the Father also commanded the disciples, ‘Hear Him’ (Matthew 17:5). The devil uses various distractions, especially when we are about to receive an important teaching or even while praying earnestly. God does not tempt anyone and when we fall prey to the devil’s tricks, we use our freewill to do as we please. God keeps waiting for a cry from His children to help and rushes immediately on hearing.
The meaning of ‘being citizens of heaven’ – The main purpose of being chosen by God is to bring us into a close relationship with Him as His children. After that the coming of the Holy Spirit in us is to help us walk worthy of that relationship. Each one of us must get refined and be raised up to a higher level of holiness and character under His guidance and teaching. Invariably, just like the Israelites in the wilderness, we want to receive power and blessings without committing to the ways of God. While teaching about the Kingdom of Heaven, Lord Jesus identified those who enter as the ones, who feed the hungry; give a drink to the thirsty; care for and comfort a stranger; clothe the naked; visit the sick and those in prison of any type (Matthew 25:35-36). A believer must willingly do all these above in the best possible manner with the resources given to him by God, not to enter but to reveal his presence in the Kingdom here on the earth itself.
Apostle Paul defines the blessings for a believer from God the Father – He declares, ‘Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ’ (Ephesians 1:3). All that we may need is already prepared and allotted to Lord Jesus. These provisions are not only for us but even for those who seek our help. Since these are available in Lord Jesus, we can only receive these by following His manner. First, God must get the glory in every aspect of our life; and second, others must be the partakers of these blessings. Third, understand that life is short and submit now and ensure your secure future in the Redeemer.
Teaching through the Parable of the unjust but shrewd manager, who used his master’s assets to ensure his future comforts, Lord Jesus virtually commended him (Luke 16:1-9). Our Lord taught, ‘make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home’. The manager used his master’s money to help others and develop personal relationships for his future. A believer must use money and the other systems under control of the devil to help others in need and thus be a true representative of the kingdom. The teaching is not about stealing and misuse but about shrewdness. The important point is to invest your resources for the Lord and in His kingdom now and ensure a secure place for eternity.
Lord Jesus cautioned the disciples, ‘I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore, be wise as serpents and harmless as doves’ (Matthew 10:16). All around us, we are surrounded by forces of evil and darkness, ready and trying to lead us into sinful living. A citizen of a country is assured of protection and provisioning by his government. But every believer also represents the kingdom before others and they must see some distinct differences in his life and behavior towards others. Lord Jesus has revealed this difference in life by identifying John the Baptist as greater than all those born before him. But with that He also blessed all of the Kingdom of Heaven, that even the least one is greater than John. Do we realize and live in this blessed state of life? God talked to Moses ‘face to face, as to a friend’ (Exodus 33:11). But a believer has God the Holy Spirit in us to teach us all things and remind us of the teachings and promises of the Lord. But are we ready and listening to His voice from within?
Do we know and believe that God seeks me more than I seek Him and that too without expecting anything from us? This is the difference between living in the heavenly or the earthly kingdom. Which kingdom do we desire to live in? If it is the Kingdom of Heaven, then feed the habits that are similar to heavenly living. Whichever one you work for, the same will start controlling and guiding your life. God never forces anyone, only we have to make a decision.
Living as citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth is about living your life aligned with the ways of that kingdom. On the one hand is the way of a righteous person and on the other side are various attractive but sinful temptations of the devil. But the end in both cases is exactly opposite, while one goes into the lake of fire, the other enters eternal joy. There may be some comforts of the flesh here in following the devil, but eternal damnation thereafter is definite. Where do you want to live your life is your decision and must be made now before it becomes too late!
