Seeds of A New World
“Gospel” means “good news.” For many still living in a John the Baptist religious paradigm, this means that Jesus Christ came so we don’t go to hell when we die. Indirectly or not, this approach to the gospel uses fear to drive people to believe. However, the Bible tells us that there can be no fear in God’s love, for God’s love drives out all fear (1 John 4:18).
Brothers and sisters, we have to understand that the gospel is “beyond anything we can think or imagine” because “a great power is at work within us”:
“...be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory.” Ephesians 3:19b-21a (NIV)
The true gospel and true Christianity are about a new internal reality - the awakening of the fullness of God within man. This “great power at work within us is “far beyond anything we can think or imagine” and this is exactly what makes the gospel so exciting. The possibilities for what God can do in, through, and around us truly become endless.
The Scriptures refer to this new reality as the “kingdom of God.” Despite Jesus saying “my kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36), many still choose to believe that Jesus will one day literally arrive on a cloud and establish a global Christian theocracy. This is exactly the opposite of what Jesus said. In fact, He said the kingdom of God is a spiritual reality within man:
“The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.” Luke 17:21 (NIV)
Jesus confirms that the “kingdom of God” is indeed a new reality present within man. Day by day, night by night, it expands its reach through the mind, body, and spirit - bringing healing, illumination, empowerment, and the wisdom of God.
Jesus often compares this new reality to a seed.
“This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain- first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.” Mark 4:26-28 (NIV)
To interpret, the “seed” here is the presence of God within man through the Holy Spirit. Over time, as we cultivate the presence of God within us, our very reality transforms before us.
An unbelievable but true fact is that a healed and restored world already exists within you and me through the Holy Spirit. The restoration of all things and the end of evil, sickness, death, and decay already exist within us. This truth is the joy, faith, hope, and love of the true gospel.
“You have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, ‘all people are like grass and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.’” 1 Peter 1:23-24 (NIV)
The seed of the Holy Spirit, the Word of God within man, is an imperishable seed that will last forever. Everything in our human experience will fade away, except for the spiritual reality and glory of the presence of God within us. This glory includes not only God’s tangible presence, but the wisdom of God in us and the power of God operating through us, for the “kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power” (1 Corinthians 4:20).
If this is the case, we have to ask ourselves why so much of our Christianity is focused on religious knowledge and behavior modification, rather than discovering, investigating, and cultivating God's inner fire.
The answer is that moving beyond knowledge requires much more from us than just our brains. A true experience of God requires full surrender and this means giving everything over to the divine plan - the mind, body, and spirit. The seed of the kingdom of God grows through experiencing life as an adventure of spiritual growth, with the help of Jesus Christ.
Paul knew the truth of this internal reality well. Speaking of the new inner reality, he says:
“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:6 (NIV)
Once there was darkness but now there is a new reality, a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) within man that is changing everything. This new creation comes to fullness through surrender and a life lived in alignment with the will of God. Paul goes on to say:
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” 2 Corinthians 4:7-9 (NIV)
The “treasure” Paul mentions is the new reality that God has awakened in man by the presence of the Holy Spirit, through the work of Jesus Christ. This treasure holds the key to salvation - restoration, renewal, and the hope of a world once again living in full relationship with God. Surrender is the key to cultivating and manifesting this incredible new reality. Look at what Paul says next:
“We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body.” 2 Corinthians 4:10-11 (NIV)
Paul explains that to die is to truly live - a truth exemplifed by the life of Jesus Christ. Surrender to God may indeed bring the total death of what once was, but what is received in return is far more glorious - the revelation of the life of Jesus Christ in mind, body, and spirit. To be clear, this includes the wisdom, power, and glory of the ascended Messiah operating in and through mankind.
