The Gospel of the Kingdom part 5 As Proclaimed in the Book of Acts

You cannot separate preaching the name of Christ from preaching the gospel of the kingdom. The gospel of the kingdom is, in fact, Christ's declaration of war against Satan and his kingdom. Welcome to Call to Glory, the cutting-edge weekly podcast dedicated to helping you know Christ, the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings. If this is your first time tuning in, please be sure to like, share, comment, and subscribe. In this part of our series, What is the Gospel? We've been studying the Gospel of the Kingdom. And this is the original gospel or good news that Christ and John the Baptist proclaimed to the people of Israel at the beginning of their public ministries. And as we've been seeing in our last two episodes, the gospel of the kingdom is in fact Christ's declaration of war against Satan and his kingdom. In this episode of Call to Glory, we're going to look at how the apostles, early disciples, and New Testament writers understood and proclaimed the gospel of the kingdom. And with that, let's turn to Acts chapter one. The former account I made of Theophilus of all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day in which he was taken up after he, through the Holy Spirit, had given commandments to the apostles whom he had chosen, to whom he also presented himself alive after his suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. The gospel or good news of the kingdom is inseparable from and eternally related to the good news of what Christ did for us in Calvary. You cannot have one without the other. It runs throughout the Bible from Genesis to Revelation and brings everything together into a unified whole in Christ. That's why we see the expectation of the Jewish kingdom promised long before by God and foretold by the Hebrew prophets everywhere among the Jewish people, both in Israel and abroad. As we've been saying from the beginning, the gospel of the kingdom is the message of the New Testament. It's what connects the New Testament to the Hebrew Scriptures, and it is inseparable from Christ Himself, for it is the good news of His kingdom. And so we see Christ continuing to speak about the kingdom of God after his resurrection, not a new Gentile kingdom or spending eternity with him in heaven, but the promised Davidic kingdom. And this also explains why the disciples asked Christ shortly before his ascension, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? Let's look at this greatly misunderstood passage. And being assembled together with them, he commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, You have heard from me, for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. Therefore, when they had come together, they asked him, saying, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? And he said to them, It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in his own authority, but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. I have heard many Christian teachers over the years ridicule them for asking what they thought was an irrelevant or even stupid question. Some even go so far as to say Christ rebuked them for their impudence when he told them, It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in his own authority. Nothing could be further from the truth. Notice that Christ neither dismissed their question as irrelevant, nor did he rebuke them for asking. Neither did he in any way tell them they were mistaken or misguided, not at all. Let's look again at their question. Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? Notice carefully that the question was not whether Christ was going to restore the kingdom to Israel. Why? Because there was never any question in their minds as to what the Hebrew scriptures clearly said about this, and moreover, Christ himself had also spoken to them numerous times before his death and resurrection about the kingdom, and these are just what's recorded in the four gospel accounts. Neither was there any question in Christ's mind as to whether the kingdom would be restored to Israel, being the logos, the very word of God. He knew the Father's eternal and unbreakable promises to the nation of Israel and the Jewish people with perfect clarity and understanding. The very same promises, in fact, that he had come to tell his Jewish brethren were finally coming to pass. So looking again at the disciples' question, we see they were simply asking when, not if, the kingdom would be restored to Israel. Big difference. Notice there's nothing in Christ's response that even comes close to correcting them about the kingdom. Nothing that in any way supports the erroneous idea that the nation of Israel had the Jewish people collectively forfeited their part in the coming Messianic kingdom. Not at all. Christ was simply telling them that the timing of the physical manifestation of the kingdom was not their concern, and instead reoriented them to the task immediately at hand. Wait for the promise of the Holy Spirit, who would empower them to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, all Judea and Samaria and the end of the earth. And so right away we see Peter proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom on the day of Pentecost. Although neither he nor Luke used the term the kingdom in this passage, Peter squarely placed the resurrection of Christ and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the context of the Davidic Kingdom. And of course, given what the Hebrew scriptures so clearly foretold, plus what Christ Himself had said about this, what else should we expect? But before we go any further, I do want to make myself perfectly clear. While I am totally convinced that the teachings of Christian theologians such as Augustine, Origen, Justin Martyr, Jean Calvin, and Martin Luther have obscured and even hijacked the true gospel of the kingdom, I am in no way advocating what's known as Toraism or more generally Hebrew roots theology as the answer. That would just be replacing one set of errors with another. And neither am I, like some of my Messianic brothers and sisters, advocating or exalting Jewish culture, tradition, or any of the various forms of rabbinical Judaism as superior to or more authentic expressions of the kingdom than Gentile Christianity. Even though rabbinical Judaism is in some ways closer than mainstream Christianity to what we see in the New Testament, that too would just be replacing one set of errors with another. What we should be walking in is the organic reality and power of the new creation, the one new man in Christ. Anything less is a religious counterfeit. That's where the action is, the new creation, and Lord willing, we will address that in a future series. Please leave a comment below if you have any thoughts or insight you'd like to share, or if that's something you'd like to see us address. But let's go back to Peter's message on the day of Pentecost. After telling his Jewish brethren the outpouring of the Holy Spirit they were witnessing was the fulfillment of Joel's prophecy, Peter goes on to say, starting in verse 29, Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that his soul was not left in Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore, being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he poured out this which you now see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucify, both Lord and Christ. This is the gospel of the kingdom, the exact same gospel of the kingdom proclaimed by Christ Himself. The ultimate irony here is that this patently Jewish gospel spoken by this Jewish fisherman directly to the Jewish people at the Jewish temple in Jerusalem has been taken and turned into a Gentile message of salvation. How in the world has this been obscured, twisted, and lost in Christian in Christian teaching, ministry, and evangelism? And just in case there's any doubt in anyone's mind about what I'm saying, or more importantly, what Peter said, let's break this down line by line so we can clearly see what he said and meant. Starting with verse 29, Peter tells the crowd, Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David. Who is Peter speaking about? Is there a Gentile patriarch named David? Maybe the Catholic Church has a Saint David somewhere, but he for sure isn't who Peter was speaking of. No, this is the Jewish King David. And you can be absolutely sure that everyone in that crowd, both the Jews who lived in Jerusalem and those who had come to celebrate the feast, knew exactly who Peter was talking about. But why David? Well, let's see. If you know your Bible, this is no mystery. Peter was of course referring to the Davidic Covenant, which we first see in 2 Samuel chapter 7. Now we looked at this in more detail in episode two of this series. If you haven't seen that episode, I've included the link in the description below. Many people are pretty familiar with at least the first part of the story when David sought to build a house or temple for God. After the prophet Nathan initially told him to do what was in his heart, God told him to go back to David and tell him that he was going to build him a house. And here's where it gets really interesting. God wasn't talking about a new palace, he was referring to an eternal dynasty. What do I mean? God specifically promised David that he would not only set up his seed after him, but also establish his kingdom. He further promised David that one of his descendants would build a house for his name, that he would establish the throne of his kingdom forever, that God would be his father and he would be his son, and that David's house, throne, and kingdom would be established forever. Let's look at the actual account in Second Samuel seven. Now it came to pass when the king was dwelling in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies all around, that the king said to Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells inside tent curtains. Then Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you. But it happened that night that the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, Go and tell my servant David, thus says the Lord. Would you build a house for me to dwell in? For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought the children of Israel up from Egypt, even to this day, but have moved about in a tent and in a tabernacle. Wherever I have moved about with all the children of Israel, have I ever spoken a word to anyone from the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, Why have you not built me a house of cedar? Now therefore, thus shall you say to my servant David, Thus says the Lord of hosts. I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel, and I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth. Moreover, I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more, nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them any more, as previously, since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also the Lord tells you that he will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled, and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men, but my mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you, and your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever. According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David. So we see that God promised David that he would set up his seed after him and establish his kingdom. Not only that, but one of his descendants would build a house for his name, that he would establish the throne of his kingdom forever, that God would be his father and he would be his son, and that David's house, throne, and kingdom would be established forever. And as I said before, you can be absolutely sure that everyone, and I do mean everyone in that crowd, knew that this was exactly what Peter was referring to. It is at the very heart of the nation of Israel's and the Jewish people's messianic hopes and expectations. Please keep this clearly in mind as we continue. Peter then goes on to say, Therefore, being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that his soul was not left in Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. Make no mistake about it. Peter is here declaring to the whole house of Israel that Jesus of Nazareth is the promised Son of David, in whom all the promises of the restored Jewish kingdom are now fulfilled. And as we've been pointing out throughout this series, this is the kingdom Christ came to inaugurate at his first coming, and it is the earthly kingdom over which he will rule and reign with the saints from Jerusalem when he returns. Peter then tells the crowd, This Jesus, God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore, being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he poured out this which you now see and hear. Now there's just no other way to spin this, at least not honestly. Peter was clearly and plainly testifying to his Jewish brethren not only that Jesus is the one whom God promised he would raise up to sit on David's throne, but that God did in fact fulfill his promise to David of an eternal kingdom by raising Jesus from the dead and pouring out the Holy Spirit as he promised under the new covenant. Referring to David's prophecy of the Messianic kingdom in Psalm 110, Peter then goes on to say, For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. And with his closing statement, Peter left no doubt that he was announcing the arrival of a long-awaited Messianic kingdom and Christ as king. Again, not a Gentile or a spiritual kingdom, but the promised Davidic kingdom of the Bible. And so we see that what is commonly thought of as the birth of the Christian Church in Acts II was from the very beginning founded upon the preaching of the Jewish gospel of the kingdom. Even after Peter was sent to Cornelius, and Paul was given the revelation that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs of the same body and partakers of his promise in Christ through the gospel, that message was never changed by the apostles. On the contrary, they continued to proclaim Christ not only as the resurrected Lord and heir to the throne of David, but also as the greater prophet prophesied by Moses in Deuteronomy 18. Not only that, they declared that the salvation and miracles happening among them was the fulfillment of everything that had been spoken by the Hebrew prophets, and further affirmed the Jewish people as the sons of the covenant God made with Abraham. We'll look at these things in more detail in our upcoming episode on the gospel of Christ. But the next time we see the gospel of the kingdom is in Acts 8, when Philip went to Samaria. Let's look, starting in verse 9. But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. Notice how Philip preached both the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. As we said before, and will continue to say, you cannot separate preaching the name of Christ from preaching the gospel of the kingdom. You may be thinking at this point, what about Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles? I'm glad you asked. We'll begin our next episode by looking at the gospel of the kingdom proclaimed by this Jewish apostle, who not only described himself as circumcised the eighth day of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, the Hebrew of the Hebrews, concerning the law of Pharisee, concerning zeal persecuting the church, concerning the righteousness which is in the law blameless, but also stated that what things were gained to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. If this is your first time tuning in, please be sure to like, share, comment, subscribe, and ring the bell so you can be notified whenever we post new episodes. If you like what you've heard today, please also leave a review wherever you're listening to this podcast. Tell us what you loved about this episode, how it may have helped or encouraged you, or you can simply leave a comment about any other topics you'd love to hear us cover in the future. Finally, remember to always keep your lamps trimmed, lit, and full of oil. Shalom, see you next time.