Faith is the proof or evidence that supports or proves truth and the things hoped for and the reality of things not seen. This means that the believer in Christ Jesus is living from the reality of spiritual truth and power through experience. If there is no experience, then there is no power, and if there is no power then we may differ on what truth is according to our own experiences or Christian education. The promises of God are revealed to us by God’s Spirit so that we may lay hold of them. 1 Timothy 4:8 (Amp) says, “For physical training is of some value (useful for a little), but godliness (spiritual training) is useful and of value in everything and in every way, for it holds promise for the present life and also for the life which is to come.” Many Christians are glad because of the hope they have of Heaven or the Age to come, and rightly so. I thank God for the life to come! But there is an earthly side to this spiritual life, it is in the now! Paul tells Timothy to live from the power of the age to come and its benefits in this fallen age.
Every true spiritual experience means that we have discovered a certain fact or truth in Christ, and have entered into Christ Jesus’ experience or the reality of the Age to come. The cross is God’s declaration that everything within us from the old creation and within this evil fallen age must die. That which has not passed through death can never be consecrated to God. God will only accept that which is of the new creation, that which the Spirit of God has given life.
Those believers who walk in the Spirit and think like the Holy Spirit understand that the Kingdom of God is here, but instead of destroying human sovereignty, it has attacked the sovereignty of Satan, his fallen angels, and his demonic forces. Those that are not actively engaged is spiritual warfare have not truly understood the coming of the Kingdom through salvation or Sozo. The Kingdom of God is here or the Age to come is here, but instead of making changes in the external order of life or the political order of things, it is making changes in the spiritual order and in the lives of men and women who live by the Spirit of God.
The Kingdom of God and the believers who walks by the Spirit understands that the Kingdom is not destroying human rule; it is not now destroying sin and sickness; it is not now bringing the baptism of fire or judgment that John had announced. The Kingdom has come quietly, inconspicuously, secretly. It can work among men and never be recognized by the believer or by the unsaved. In the spiritual realm, the Kingdom now offers to men the blessings of God’s rule, delivering them from the power of Satan, fallen angel activity, demonic possession, sin and sickness. The Kingdom of God is an offer, a gift which may be accepted or rejected on any or all levels. The Kingdom is now here with persuasion rather than with judgment. Each of the parables in Matthew 13 illustrates this mystery of the Kingdom, that the Kingdom of God which is yet to come in the power and great glory is actually present among men in advance in an unexpected form to bring to men in the present evil Age the blessings of the “The Age to Come”. May our hearts receive the true identity, purpose, opportunity and destiny that we believer have in Christ Jesus’ Kingdom now, for its profit is now and in the future.
Bruce Hines Church In One Accord
churchinoneaccord.org