The Goal of the Kingdom Conquest
What does God want from you, first and foremost? Deut. 6:4-6 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is ONE! You shall love the LORD you God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.” Matt. 22:36-38 shows that Christ in the NT expects no less!!!
How does He bring about this love response in His people? Ex. 19:4-5 gives us a hint. He delivers us and “brings us to Himself". Col. 1:12-13 speaks of this deliverance, from the kingdom of darkness, of which Egypt was a shadow, and of the Father’s transferring us into the Kingdom of the Son of His Love!!! In Rom. 5:5, we see that a result of our justification by faith is the “love of God being poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit Who has been given unto us." In other words, our Father does not leave His love
requirement to chance. Eph. 3:14-21 lays out the Triune Operation in bringing us into the fullness of this faith and love.
This is the Goal of Christ’s Kingdom conquest. Ps.91:1-4, 9-16; Isa. 57:15/John 17:20-23 All of these passages state the love, will, and purpose of God to bring His people into His Dwelling Place, His Holy Place, and there to abide in His Fullness and Blessing.
In the OT, heaven was spoken of as God’s “dwelling place”(I Kings 8:30, 39, 43, 49. The tabernacle was also spoken of as the dwelling place of God on the earth in the midst of His people. (II Chron. 6:2, 36:15, Ps 74:7; 76:2; 79:7)
But in the NT, the Apostle Paul makes it plain that a transition is occurring: Acts 17:24; and Stephen incites his own stoning with this truth: Acts 7:44-50 In both instances, it is being made plain that God does not dwell in “places”, buildings or otherwise!
In Ephesians 2:19-22, Paul “fleshes out” this “New Testament” dwelling place of God! People out of all nations are members “of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief Cornerstone, in Whom the whole building being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, IN WHOM you also are being built together for a habitation, that is a dwelling place, of God IN THE SPIRIT.” In other words, God’s people are His Dwelling Place!
So with whom does God dwell, and what do they look like??? And that brings us to our Lord’s context for the Beatitudes. Isaiah 57:15
1. God doesn’t change His Character or Essence to dwell with these people. He ever remains the “High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity.” The marvel is His Eternal plan to bring sinful people into His Dwelling and He in them and still be Just and Righteous. (Romans 3:21-26)
2. Where ever this dwelling occurs, it is the High and Holy Place. The Presence of the High and Lofty One transcends the “blessed ones’” location. The Spiritual triumphs over the physical/material. Consider Hebrews 10:19-22 in this context!!!
3. In Matthew 5, Jesus calls these “dwellings” the “Blessed”.
a. The word for blessed (#1288) is used in Genesis (first mention principle) 47 times. It’s root means “to bend the knees”. It’s primary contextual meaning is to cause to prosper, to be fruitful!!! “And God blessed them, and God said to them “Be fruitful and multiply” In Genesis 1:20-31.
Note: The Blessed are those who bow the knees to the Love, Will, and Purpose of their Maker. Psalm 95:6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker, for He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His Hand. (margin=under His care).
4. The humble and contrite spirit is foundational to being the Blessed of the Most High God for He ever resists the proud!!! I Peter 5:5-9, James 4:5-6, Psalm 34:18 (margin-crushed in spirit); Ps. 51:17(contrite=#1794 to collapse), Ps. 138:6
5. Back to Isa. 57:15--The purpose of the High and Lofty One is “to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” He is not into groveling, “wormy” worship. His Kingdom is in Righteous, Peace, AND JOY in the Holy Ghost. (Romans 14:17) The Blessed never forget the pit from which they were dug (Ps 40:2) but they ever bow the knee in awe and thanksgiving to their Maker. They always tremble at the thought of having a stiff neck and hard heart as those who fell in the wilderness (Heb. 3:7-19) Psalm 136 is the Joy of their heart and the praise of their lips—“O give thanks to the Lord, for He Is Good, For His Mercy endures forever.”!!!
PSALM 113:1-9 Who is like the LORD our God, Who dwells on high, Who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in the heavens and in the earth? He raises the poor out of the dust, and lifts the needy out of the ash heap, that He may seat him with princes, with the princes of His peoples.
What does God want from you, first and foremost? Deut. 6:4-6 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is ONE! You shall love the LORD you God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.” Matt. 22:36-38 shows that Christ in the NT expects no less!!!
How does He bring about this love response in His people? Ex. 19:4-5 gives us a hint. He delivers us and “brings us to Himself". Col. 1:12-13 speaks of this deliverance, from the kingdom of darkness, of which Egypt was a shadow, and of the Father’s transferring us into the Kingdom of the Son of His Love!!! In Rom. 5:5, we see that a result of our justification by faith is the “love of God being poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit Who has been given unto us." In other words, our Father does not leave His love
requirement to chance. Eph. 3:14-21 lays out the Triune Operation in bringing us into the fullness of this faith and love.
This is the Goal of Christ’s Kingdom conquest. Ps.91:1-4, 9-16; Isa. 57:15/John 17:20-23 All of these passages state the love, will, and purpose of God to bring His people into His Dwelling Place, His Holy Place, and there to abide in His Fullness and Blessing.
In the OT, heaven was spoken of as God’s “dwelling place”(I Kings 8:30, 39, 43, 49. The tabernacle was also spoken of as the dwelling place of God on the earth in the midst of His people. (II Chron. 6:2, 36:15, Ps 74:7; 76:2; 79:7)
But in the NT, the Apostle Paul makes it plain that a transition is occurring: Acts 17:24; and Stephen incites his own stoning with this truth: Acts 7:44-50 In both instances, it is being made plain that God does not dwell in “places”, buildings or otherwise!
In Ephesians 2:19-22, Paul “fleshes out” this “New Testament” dwelling place of God! People out of all nations are members “of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief Cornerstone, in Whom the whole building being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, IN WHOM you also are being built together for a habitation, that is a dwelling place, of God IN THE SPIRIT.” In other words, God’s people are His Dwelling Place!
So with whom does God dwell, and what do they look like??? And that brings us to our Lord’s context for the Beatitudes. Isaiah 57:15
1. God doesn’t change His Character or Essence to dwell with these people. He ever remains the “High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity.” The marvel is His Eternal plan to bring sinful people into His Dwelling and He in them and still be Just and Righteous. (Romans 3:21-26)
2. Where ever this dwelling occurs, it is the High and Holy Place. The Presence of the High and Lofty One transcends the “blessed ones’” location. The Spiritual triumphs over the physical/material. Consider Hebrews 10:19-22 in this context!!!
3. In Matthew 5, Jesus calls these “dwellings” the “Blessed”.
a. The word for blessed (#1288) is used in Genesis (first mention principle) 47 times. It’s root means “to bend the knees”. It’s primary contextual meaning is to cause to prosper, to be fruitful!!! “And God blessed them, and God said to them “Be fruitful and multiply” In Genesis 1:20-31.
Note: The Blessed are those who bow the knees to the Love, Will, and Purpose of their Maker. Psalm 95:6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker, for He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His Hand. (margin=under His care).
4. The humble and contrite spirit is foundational to being the Blessed of the Most High God for He ever resists the proud!!! I Peter 5:5-9, James 4:5-6, Psalm 34:18 (margin-crushed in spirit); Ps. 51:17(contrite=#1794 to collapse), Ps. 138:6
5. Back to Isa. 57:15--The purpose of the High and Lofty One is “to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” He is not into groveling, “wormy” worship. His Kingdom is in Righteous, Peace, AND JOY in the Holy Ghost. (Romans 14:17) The Blessed never forget the pit from which they were dug (Ps 40:2) but they ever bow the knee in awe and thanksgiving to their Maker. They always tremble at the thought of having a stiff neck and hard heart as those who fell in the wilderness (Heb. 3:7-19) Psalm 136 is the Joy of their heart and the praise of their lips—“O give thanks to the Lord, for He Is Good, For His Mercy endures forever.”!!!
PSALM 113:1-9 Who is like the LORD our God, Who dwells on high, Who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in the heavens and in the earth? He raises the poor out of the dust, and lifts the needy out of the ash heap, that He may seat him with princes, with the princes of His peoples.