Blog In Audio:
Greetings,
As leaders, we lead others in matters of relationship. We don’t merely lead them in matters of obedience. The two greatest commandments in the Law were to love God and to love your neighbor (Mt. 22:36-40). The Law and the prophets depended upon these two commandments, and these two commandments were the governing administration until John. Jesus came to give us something greater than the commandments of the Old Covenant Law. He came to give us a testimony of the kingdom of God.
Luke 16:16 “The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it.”
The commandments of the law were the governing voice of the Old Covenant. You cannot break laws; you can only violate them and then they break you, unless you supersede those laws with a higher law. The law of lift, thrust, and propulsion can supersede the law of gravity and enable a helicopter to fly. They don’t eliminate the law of gravity; therefore, the law of gravity can be a servant that enables the helicopter to land when necessary. Jesus superseded the law of the knowledge of good and evil by the law of the Father’s love. The new commandment is to love one another as Jesus loves us. It is based upon a revelation of His love in our lives and not mere obedience to a command.
John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Jesus was the firstfruit of a different race of humanity. That race was the race of being sons and daughters of God who would manifest the life-giving character, nature, way, power, and authority of God in their lives. These are those who are part of a family tree of life. They are motivated by a revelation of God’s love in their hearts and minds. These will cast a shadow that looks like obedience to a covenant of law to love but it is really the fruit of intimacy with God. Jesus came to give us all an administration of love, the administration of the kingdom of God.
The kingdom of God is different than the kingdoms of men. The kingdom of God is an eternal reality of life. It is filled with a testimony of God’s grace to overcome all manner of death and dysfunction. The kingdom of God is built upon a foundation of our heavenly Father’s love. This is a higher law than a law of commands to love. It is a personal experience of being loved by God and it is experienced through faith in the person – Jesus Christ. A revelation of God’s love will empower us to be loving. It enables us to understand mercy and grace and to be people of mercy and grace. It doesn’t destroy the commandment to love; it casts a shadow of love that others can see because of a revelation of God’s love within them.
The kingdom of God is an eternal kingdom within the heart of those who join themselves to God in Christ through an intimate knowledge of Jesus – the eternal salvation of mankind. God’s internal kingdom empowers us to become sons and daughters of God who know righteousness, peace, and joy in God’s Holy Spirit. This causes our external kingdoms to increasingly become expressions of the kingdom of God in character, nature, way, power, and authority. As leaders, we lead others in embracing the realities of the kingdom of God within their hearts. We lead others in embracing an administration of our heavenly Father’s love.
Food For Thought,
Ted J. Hanson
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House of Bread Ministry
3210 Meridian St.
Bellingham, WA 98225-1728
