{"id":19255,"date":"2019-09-25T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-09-25T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/the-coming-kingdom-075\/"},"modified":"2022-03-10T08:38:14","modified_gmt":"2022-03-10T14:38:14","slug":"the-coming-kingdom-075","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/the-coming-kingdom-075\/","title":{"rendered":"The Coming Kingdom 075"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[111],"series_event":[470],"sermon_service_type":[474],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-19255","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-revelation","series_event-the-coming-kingdom","sermon_service_type-wednesday-evenings","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"The Coming Kingdom 075","sermon_date":"20190925","sermon_month":"09","sermon_year":"2019","sermon_notes":7097,"sermon_slides":7099,"sermon_mp3":7098,"sermon_id":"925192228276337","series_or_event":470,"service_type":[474],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":111,"chapter_and_verse":"3:21","sermon_transcript":"Open your Bibles to the book of Colossians 1:16-17.\u00a0 We are in Chapter 21 of my book, The Coming Kingdom<\/u><\/strong>.\u00a0 Believe it or not, this study is moving, and Chapter 21 is the end of a long section in the book where people are using either verses or philosophical arguments against the notion that the Kingdom is in a state of postponement currently.\u00a0 Christendom, by and large, believes in 'kingdom now' theology, so they have a lot of passages that they use.\u00a0 We are now at the end of that long section dealing with all the arguments that 'kingdom now' theologians to argue against the model that we have tried to advocate:\u00a0 the Kingdom is postponed.\r\n\r\nPart I of the book:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Kingdom is in postponement \u2014 Genesis to Revelation study\r\n\r\nPart II of the book:\u00a0 Which passages or arguments do people use to counter the postponement model?\r\n\r\nLord willing, we will finish Part II tonight and start Part III next week \u2014 all things being equal which is \u2018Why Does It Matter; Who Cares?\u2019\u00a0 Chapter 21 in the book is about answering three, not necessarily text-based arguments, but rather miscellaneous arguments that some use to say that we must be in the Kingdom now.\u00a0 In the last couple of sessions, we answered arguments from the argument from silence, and I want to deal with this last one now.\u00a0 What some say here on number 3 [Jesus' alleged present inactivity] is that if you don't believe that we are currently in the Kingdom, then you must also believe that Jesus is doing nothing presently (see Slide on Three Miscellaneous Arguments Advanced by \u201cKingdom Now Theology).\u00a0 <\/strong>\r\n\r\nWhat we have taught is that following Jesus' crucifixion, resurrection and ascension, returned to the right hand of the Father where He is now seated, not on His throne, but on the Father\u2019s throne.\u00a0 We are trying to argue that this present position of Christ is not His regal position, but His position as high priest.\u00a0 To be sure, the current position that Jesus holds is a position of glory and honor; one that He held before the foundations of the earth prior to the virgin birth or virgin conception.\u00a0 At the very end of His life in John 17:5, He prayed for that position of glory to be restored, \u201cNow, Father, glorify<\/u><\/strong> Me together with Yourself, with the glory<\/u><\/strong> which I had with You before the world was.\u201d That prayer was answered at the Ascension.\u00a0 Jesus is now in an honorable position in glory at the right hand of the Father.\r\n\r\nThere is a reference to His Ascension in Rev 12:5, \u201cAnd she gave birth to a son, a male child<\/em>, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne.<\/u>\u201d<\/strong>\r\n\r\nNotice that He is on the Father\u2019s throne at the present time; He has been there for 2,000 years.\u00a0 Recall Rev 3:21, \u201cHe who overcomes, I will grant [future tense of did\u014dmi<\/em><\/u><\/strong>] to Him to sit down with Me on My throne<\/u><\/strong>, as I also overcame and sat down<\/u><\/strong> [aorist tense of kathiz\u014d<\/em>] <\/u><\/strong>with My Father on His throne<\/u><\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0 That statement was made by Christ about 60 years following the Ascension.\u00a0 In His Ascension, Jesus clearly delineated between two thrones.\u00a0 There is the future throne that He will one day occupy on planet Earth, the Kingdom.\u00a0 Then there is His present position where He is not on His throne but on His Father\u2019s throne.\u00a0 He makes us a promise that if we are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we will also reign with Him one day [future tense] on His throne.\u00a0 There is a terrestrial throne and a celestial throne, an earthly throne and a heavenly throne.\u00a0 We believe that Jesus is currently on a heavenly throne, not even on His own throne, but His Father\u2019s throne.\u00a0 Until He returns to planet Earth to take His seat on His own throne in Jerusalem on the Earth, the Kingdom has not yet started.\r\n\r\nThe Kingdom could not have started because in the 70 weeks prophecy written six centuries in advance before Jesus showed up, it revealed what would happen to the Messiah in Daniel 9:26, \u201cSo, you are to know and discern that <\/em>from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince<\/u><\/strong>\u2026[notice here He is called the Prince and not the King because His Kingship, His regal authority revolves the response of Israel to their King. It is a prediction here that Israel would reject Jesus in His First Coming, so that is why Daniel refers to Him as the Prince who shall come] \u2026 Dan 9:26, \u201c\u2026the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing<\/u><\/strong>\u2026\u201d If that is what actually happened, it is hard to argue, \u2018Oh, just fooling, He ascended back to the right hand of the Father, and He got His Kingdom anyway.\u2019\u00a0 The prophecy is very clear that He would be cut off and have nothing, therefore, what Jesus presently has is a ministry at the Father\u2019s right hand which is not to be confused with the Kingdom.\u00a0 That is the view that I have been teaching.\r\n\r\nWhat some say is that if you believe that as I have tried to articulate it, then you believe that Jesus currently isn't doing anything.\u00a0 Here is a citation from Dallas Seminary PhD, Dave Anderson from his doctoral dissertation.\u00a0 I agree with many things he says, he is a free grace guy; he has a school similar to Chafer Seminary that is called the Grace School of Theology.\u00a0 I think he is actually here in the Houston area, but he wrote his dissertation, The King-Priest of Psalm 110 in Hebrews<\/em>.\u00a0 One of his points is that as He is at the right hand of the Father, Jesus is not just functioning as priest, but also as King.\u00a0 He said something very interesting at the beginning of his dissertation on page 2 and at the very end of the dissertation on page 296, and they only let you have a dissertation of 300 pages.\u00a0 I know this because that was the requirement placed upon me, so on page 296, so there it is on page 296 which is at the very end.\u00a0\u00a0 He says something to both open and close the dissertation, and I bring this up not to pick on Dave Anderson but to demonstrate the mentality that exists among those who believe that Jesus is currently reigning in a kingdom.\u00a0 Anderson says, \u201cBut clearly Jesus did not set up a natural theocratic kingdom with Himself as the King ruling from Jerusalem on earth before His resurrection.\u00a0 So, what happened to the kingdom He promised?\u00a0 It was postponed, many New Testament interpreters suggest [like me, for example, that is the whole view I've been trying to teach in this class] \u2026But if the premillennial view just espoused is true, that leaves the question concerning the present ministry of Christ.\u00a0 What is He doing right now?<\/u>\u201d<\/strong>\r\n\r\nHis point is that if you acquiesce to the idea that the present age is not the Kingdom, then you are also acquiescing to the idea that Jesus is somehow in heaven stationary, not doing anything.\u00a0 The mindset is that you have to agree that He is ruling and reigning as King from heaven.\u00a0 If you don't believe that, then you must also believe that He isn't doing anything right now.\r\n\r\nAt the end of his dissertation, he says, \u201cBut classical or revised dispensationalists \u2026 [similar to the view taught in this class and what is taught here at Sugarland Bible Church and what is reflected in our doctrinal statement] \u2026should also recognize the already<\/em> eschatology of Hebrews. [Dave Anderson is one of these already not yet guys, and I believe that he wrote this dissertation under Darrel Bock, who is the progenitor at Dallas Seminary of this new already not yet view] \u2026 Anderson goes on to say, \u201cChrist is not passive on the throne.<\/u>\u201d\u00a0 <\/strong>[So, what he is saying here is that if you don't believe that He is reigning as King over an invisible Davidic kingdom, then you believe that He is passive]. \u2026 \u201cHe is reigning.\u00a0 He has subjects. And because He is the forerunner, there are many present blessings which belong to the eschatological age which can be enjoyed now because the Davidic Covenant with some of its blessings has been inaugurated.\u201d\r\n\r\nSo, if Jesus is not reigning as Davidic king as a partial fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant, then you obviously believe in a theology where Jesus\u2019 activity on the earth doesn\u2019t exist.\u00a0 Look at all the blessings we have in the Church.\u00a0 The building, the Holy Spirit, etc, and he is saying that these are all the products of Jesus in His Davidic reign now.\u00a0 If you don't believe that He is in His Davidic reign now, then you believe in a Jesus that is stationary in heaven who doesn\u2019t do anything.\u00a0 The point I want to make tonight is what he has done here is what we would call a straw man logical fallacy.\u00a0 A straw man argument, and you can watch politicians who do it to each other all the time, is where you misrepresent someone\u2019s beliefs and then tear down not what your opponent really says or believes but your misrepresentation or mischaracterization of what they allegedly believe.\u00a0 It is called a straw man fallacy because a man of straw is just that; a representation of something that isn't accurate; something you created.\u00a0 Just as a man of straw falls down easily, it is easy to knock down straw men when your opponent is not given the opportunity to present what they are actually saying.\u00a0 You are acting not on what they said but on what you have misrepresented them to say.\r\n\r\nHe is saying that we are either in the Davidic Kingdom now, or Jesus isn't doing anything.\u00a0 I want to show you tonight that this is false; this is never what our camp has taught.\u00a0 Jesus has three offices:\u00a0 Prophet, Priest, and King.\u00a0 Prophet primary at His first coming; King primarily at His Second Coming, but He is also occupying a very viable ministry presently, not to be confused with the Davidic reign.\u00a0 This is called the high priestly ministry of Christ and when going back into the writings of Lewis Sperry Chafer and others of whom I will show you some quotes, there is a category called \u2018the present session of Christ.\u2019\u00a0 Jesus, today, is not functioning as prophet or King, but He is functioning as High Priest in His present session, and He is doing a ton of stuff.\u00a0 In fact, there are so many things that Jesus is doing, I was running out of room on my slide as I was trying to make a list of all the things He is currently doing that should not be confused with the Davidic reign.\u00a0 When the Davidic reign starts, it will be His direct authority over the earth; satan will be banished.\u00a0 He will rule the world with a rod of righteousness; we are not yet in that phase of His program.\u00a0\u00a0 A lot of people say that if you don't believe that we are in some sense in that phase now, then you believe that Jesus isn't doing anything.\r\n\r\nStephen Waterhouse, in his book, Not by Bread Alone<\/u><\/strong>, Amarillo Bible Church.\u00a0 If you don't have a copy of that book, see me, and I will get one for you.\u00a0 It is a wonderfully done book on Systematic Theology.\u00a0 He correctly says, \u201cThe Bible teaches that Christ is now at the right hand of God in glory (Acts 7:56; Col 3:1; Heb 1:3; 8:1; 12:2). [One of the verses that he could have added was John 17:5, the one I showed earlier].\u00a0 Then Waterhouse correctly says concerning the present session and present priestly position of Christ] \u2026 \u201cHe is not in the least inactive.\u201d\u00a0 This is the opposite of what Dave Anderson says.\u00a0 If this isn't the Davidic reign, then Jesus is inactive and that is not what the Bible teaches as I will show you.\u00a0 It isn't what our camp teaches, and if people criticize us on those grounds, they really aren\u2019t criticizing what we say, but they're criticizing a straw man or a mischaracterization or a misrepresentation.\r\n\r\nThis quote from Lewis Sperry Chafer that he wrote in 1947, and even in his day, he was complaining about the fact that all the way back then, as he was looking through different systematic theologies, ministries, sermons, and teachings of the local church, that almost nothing was being said about the present session of Christ.\u00a0 We could make that same complaint today.\u00a0 Why is it that the present session of Christ in His high priestly role is so little understood by the Christian public?\r\n\r\nThis is what he said in 1947, \u201cThe present ministry of Christ in heaven, known as His [present] session, is far-reaching both in consequence and import. <\/em>[In fact, to you personally right now in the 21st<\/sup> century, of all the ministries of Christ that directly relate to your life, the present session of Christ in terms of daily life is probably the most important ministry that Christ is currently pursuing at the right hand of the Father]. \u2026 \u201cIt [<\/em>the present session], too, has not been treated even with a passing consideration by Covenant theologians, doubtless due to their inability\u2014because of being confronted with their one covenant theory\u2014to introduce features and ministries which indicate a new divine purpose in the Church and by so much tend to disrupt the unity of a supposed immutable purpose and covenant of God's. <\/em>[In other words, he is saying that people come to the Bible with a grid that they're trying to force the Bible into; they're trying to argue that we are in the Kingdom now.\u00a0 If you do that, then you miss out on what the Bible is actually teaching concerning what Christ is doing now, not to be confused with the Kingdom but relates to Christ\u2019s present session]. \u2026 \u201cSince, as will be seen, certain vital ministries of Christ in heaven provide completely for the believer\u2019s security, the present session of Christ has been eschewed by Arminians<\/em> [those who believe that you can lose your salvation] in a manner equally unpardonable\u2026This neglect accounts very well for the emphasis of their pulpit ministrations. <\/em>[In other words, Arminians, who believe you can lose your salvation, aren\u2019t going to talk about the present session of Christ either because it is the present session of Christ that keeps us secure in Christ.\u00a0 If you don't believe that we are secure in Christ, then you'll tend to downplay Christ\u2019s present session]. \u2026 \u201cThe Christian public, because deprived of the knowledge of Christ\u2019s present ministry, are unaware of its vast realities, though they are able from childhood itself to relate the mere historical facts and activities of Christ during His three and one-half years of service on earth<\/em>. [In other words, he is saying, and it was true in 1947 and it is true today, is that if you were to ask the typical Christian about Jesus, they could tell you all kinds of things about His earthly life, about His death, resurrection, about what city He was born into, His parents, brothers, miracles, and if you would press them, they could probably tell you some of what He will one day do in the future on the earth.\u00a0 But if you asked your average Christian what Jesus is doing right now, there appears to be a gap in the understanding, and the average Christian knows almost nothing about what He is doing right now in His present session.\u00a0 This is sad because that is the part of His ministry that relates directly to our lives in a most impactful way].\r\n\r\n\u201c\u2026That Christ is doing anything now is not recognized by Christians generally and for this part-truth kind of preaching is wholly responsible<\/em>. [In other words, the systematic theologies don't emphasize this; the pulpits don't emphasize it largely because the systematic theologies are written by 'kingdom now' theologians or Arminians, he is saying, and basically, the institutions that train the preachers come into the pulpits and don't mention this part of Christ\u2019s ministry because they have never been taught it] \u2026 \u00a0\u201cIt yet remains true, whether neglected by one or the other kind of theologian, that Christ is now engaged in ministry which determines the service and destiny of all those who have put their trust in Him<\/em>.\u201d\r\n\r\nSo, in 1947, there was a gap of knowledge of the present session of Christ, and I would argue that this gap of knowledge is happening today, and much of it falls at the feet of 'kingdom now' theologians, Arminians and others who de-emphasize that part of Christ\u2019s ministry.\r\n\r\nIf you ever find yourself looking for a new church and want to determine where they are coming from, a good question to ask the leadership is what they teach about the present session of Christ.\u00a0 Probably nine times out of ten you will get a blank stare.\u00a0 This is a massive area of neglect, and this is how to look at a systematic theology to tell if it is dispensational or not:\u00a0 does it give any place at all to the present session of Christ, or does it just cram everything together into a one-kingdom now idea?\r\n\r\nWith that in mind, what I did to rebut this mentality, is to put together a list of eleven things that Jesus is clearly doing right now (see slide on Christ\u2019s High Priestly Activities in His Present Session) <\/strong>at the Father's right hand in His present session that relate directly to our lives.\u00a0 Although these things are not to be confused with the Davidic reign.\r\n\r\nWhat is Jesus doing now?\u00a0 <\/strong>\r\n
    \r\n \t
  1. He sustains creation<\/strong> per Col 1:16-17<\/u><\/strong>, which says, \u201cFor by Him, all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities\u2014all things have been created through Him and for Him.\u00a0 17<\/sup> He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.\u201d\u00a0 He is the One who is keeping the atoms, molecules, respiratory system in my body properly functioning so I don't drop dead.\u00a0 He is the One who is keeping the planets rotating on their right axis so they don't collide with each other.\u00a0 So, clearly, Jesus is doing something at the Father's right hand \u2014 He is sustaining creation.<\/li>\r\n \t
  2. He is also exercising His function of headship over the Church<\/strong> per Eph 1:22-23<\/u><\/strong>. That isn't the Kingdom.\u00a0 If that was the Kingdom, He would be headship over the entire world.\u00a0 He isn't the head over the entire world right now, but He is head over this rebel army who He is creating called the Church, which is living in opposition to satan\u2019s world, that is us.\u00a0 Jesus is the head over that institution.\u00a0 Notice that the Church of Jesus Christ doesn\u2019t belong to a pastor nor to a board, but to Jesus Christ.\u00a0\u00a0 The function of leadership is to submit to the headship of Christ over His church.<\/li>\r\n \t
  3. He is functioning as groom over the Church<\/strong> per Eph 5:22-33<\/u><\/strong>. We are a woman spoken for, destined to be married.\u00a0 He is the Groom; we are the bride, and He has that role over the Church.<\/li>\r\n \t
  4. He is building, <\/strong>not His Kingdom on planet Earth.<\/strong> He is building His rebel army or His church.<\/strong>\u00a0 When He was on the Earth in Matt 16:18<\/u><\/strong>, He indicated that this time would come.\u00a0 He said, \u201cI also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build [future tense of the verb oikodome\u014d<\/em>\u2014He wasn\u2019t building it when He made this statement, but He would start to build it following His Ascension] \u2026 <\/em>\u201cI will build My church; and the gates of Hades WILL NOT<\/u><\/strong> overpower it.<\/u><\/strong>\u201d\u00a0 So, He isn't reigning over the world; He is building a spiritual organism or spiritual man called the Church in the devil\u2019s world.\u00a0 You can clearly see that building project taking place in the book of Acts which does not talk about the slaughter of the Roman Empire which will happen when the Kingdom starts.\u00a0 It talks about a group that is gradually being developed as you move through the book of Acts.\r\n
      \r\n \t
    1. Acts\u2019 Purpose: \u201cTo present Theophilus [a Gentile believer when you study Luke 1:3,4<\/u><\/strong>] \u2026 with an orderly account of the birth and growth of the church so as to affirm him in what he has believed.\u201d\u00a0 Theophilus was a Gentile believer, and this is the prologue of Luke, the prequel to the book of Acts in Luke 1:3,4.\u00a0 Like many believers, he is having doubts as to whether he is part of the plan of God.\u00a0 \u00a0The book of Acts, a historical masterpiece, chronicles how God started this building project called the Church in Jerusalem in Acts 2 and has gradually built the Church over three decades all the way to Rome where many believe Theophilus was.\u00a0 So, Theophilus, you aren\u2019t in the Kingdom, but you are part of this building project called the Church.\u00a0 Thus, Luke is a record of the birth and growth of the Church. Luke develops this by examining three things:<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n
        \r\n \t
      1. Numerical growth<\/li>\r\n \t
      2. Geographical growth from Jerusalem all the way to Rome<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n
          \r\n \t
        • Ethnic growth starting off as an offshoot of Judaism eventually becoming an institution that would include all nations.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nThat is what the Book of Acts is about so everything in this book can be fit into the\r\n\r\nthree categories of growth above: numerical, geographical, or ethnic growth.\r\n\r\nLuke records the numerical growth of the Church by giving progress reports.\r\n\r\nSee slide on Progress Reports in Acts.<\/strong>\u00a0 There are some progress reports that are clear; others may be a little less clear, but it is obvious when moving through the book of Acts, that the numerical growth of the Church is a central point in Luke\u2019s argument to Theophilus. \u00a0Let's look at:\r\n
            \r\n \t
          • Acts 2:47<\/u><\/strong>, \u201c\u2026praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.\u201d\u00a0 It is a progress report.<\/li>\r\n \t
          • Acts 6:7<\/u><\/strong>, another progress report, \u201cThe Word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem [who is adding those numbers? Jesus said, \u201cI will build My Church.\u201d\u00a0 So, this is something He is clearly doing at the right hand of the Father, which is not to be confused with the Davidic Kingdom], \u2026<\/li>\r\n \t
          • Acts 9:31<\/u><\/strong>, \u201cSo, the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase.\u201d A progress report.<\/li>\r\n \t
          • Acts 12:24<\/u><\/strong>, Jesus is fulfilling His promise that He made to Peter in Matt 16:18, \u201cBut the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied.\u201d<\/li>\r\n \t
          • Acts 16:5<\/u><\/strong>, \u201cSo, the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in number daily.\u201d<\/li>\r\n \t
          • Acts 19:20<\/u><\/strong>, \u201cSo, the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing.\u201d<\/li>\r\n \t
          • Acts 28:30-31,<\/u><\/strong> where people were coming to Paul while he was under house arrest in Rome. \u201cAnd he stayed two full years in his own rented quarters and was welcoming all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness unhindered.\u201d<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nAll of this is tracking what Jesus is doing at the right hand of the Father, which He is obviously doing.\u00a0 So, we don't believe he is currently in the Kingdom, but we clearly believe He is at work. There at the bottom, I have some progress reports that may be a little less clear, but they give numbers.\u00a0 \u00a0Obviously, Jesus is doing something at the right hand of the Father.\u00a0 We don't believe that we are currently in the Kingdom, but we clearly believe that He is at work.\u00a0 I have some progress reports that may be a little less clear, but they give numbers.\r\n\r\nHow did this church start?\u00a0 Look at:\r\n
              \r\n \t
            • Acts 1:15<\/u><\/strong>, \u201cAt this time Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren (a gathering of about one hundred and twenty persons was there together), So, there are about 120 before the Spirit falls\u2026<\/li>\r\n \t
            • Acts 2:41<\/u><\/strong>, went from 120 to 3,000 souls were saved on the day of Pentecost. Talk about church growth!\u00a0 From 120 to 3,000 people.<\/li>\r\n \t
            • Acts 4:4<\/u><\/strong>, from 3,000 to 5,000 souls and the number continued.<\/li>\r\n \t
            • Acts 5:14<\/u><\/strong>, \u201cAnd all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number, \u2026\u201d<\/li>\r\n \t
            • Acts 5:42,<\/u><\/strong> we see the same thing in this verse.<\/li>\r\n \t
            • Acts 8:25<\/u><\/strong>, So, when they had solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem and were preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.\u201d That isn't merely numerical growth but also ethnic growth.\u00a0 Ethnic barriers are being traversed by the Church.<\/li>\r\n \t
            • Acts 8:40<\/u><\/strong>, \u201cBut Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities\u2026\u201d<\/li>\r\n \t
            • Acts 11:21<\/u><\/strong>, \u201cAnd the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord.\u201d<\/li>\r\n \t
            • Acts 13:49<\/u><\/strong>, \u201cAnd the word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region.\u201d<\/li>\r\n \t
            • Acts 17:6<\/u><\/strong>, When they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some brethren before the city authorities, shouting, \u201cThese men who have upset the world have come here also.\u201d So, the church turned the world upside down in the first century.<\/li>\r\n \t
            • Acts 15:14<\/u><\/strong>, James, the Lord\u2019s brother at the Jerusalem Council, \u201cSimeon has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name.<\/u><\/strong>\u201d That is what God is doing today and what He has been doing for the last 2,000 years.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nObviously, Jesus and God are at work making good on His promise to build the Church at the Father's right hand, although we are not currently in the Kingdom.\u00a0 So, it clearly refutes the idea that if you don't believe that we are in the Kingdom now, then you think that Jesus is doing nothing.\u00a0 Nonsense!\u00a0 Jesus is building His church.\u00a0 He isn't doing it from David\u2019s throne but from the Father's right hand.\r\n\r\nWhat else is Jesus doing?\u00a0 According to Eph 4:7-12, He is giving spiritual gifts to the church.\u00a0 That passage indicates that following His ascension, Jesus began to give spiritual gifts to the Church.\u00a0 On the authority of God's Word, every believer has at least one spiritual gift because it says in Eph 4:7 and 1 Cor 12:7, concerning the use of our gifts, \u201ceach of you.\u201d\u00a0 So, God equips us to serve Him in different ways depending on our gifting, and we wouldn\u2019t have spiritual gifts if Jesus was not active in His present session at the Father's right hand.\r\n\r\nJesus is also functioning today as High Priest after the order of Melchizedek; that is the way to understand the present session of Christ; not as Part A of the Kingdom, the way that Dave Anderson is understanding it, but as the present session of Christ where He is functioning as High Priest.\u00a0 That is what the entire book of Hebrews is about; it demonstrates that Jesus, in His current priesthood, has a priesthood higher than Aaron; therefore, it is silly for these Jewish Christians to reject the full supremacy of Christ and drift back into Judaism which they were very tempted to do to avoid persecution from unbelieving Jews, especially prior to AD 70 with the Temple still functioning.\u00a0 The entire book of Hebrews is an exhortation not to do that based on an understanding that Jesus has a superior position to Aaron, not as King currently, but as priest.\u00a0 He says here, \u201cHe remains a priest<\/u> <\/strong>perpetually.\u201d\u00a0 Aaron\u2019s priests, the Aaronic priests all died and had to be replaced.\u00a0 Not so Jesus in His present priesthood; He does not die, and He remains a priest presently.\u00a0 It is very clear here in Hebrews 6:20, \u201c\u2026 where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.<\/u><\/strong>\u201d\r\n\r\nMelchizedek is used as a historical figure and is used strategically in the book of Hebrews to communicate that the priesthood of Christ is higher than the priesthood of Aaron.\u00a0 Jesus could not have been an Aaronic priest because He was born in the wrong tribe.\u00a0 All of the priests in Aaron\u2019s system had to come from the tribe of Levi.\u00a0 Jesus came from the tribe of Judah.\u00a0 Jesus broke the mold!\u00a0 Jesus has a priesthood much greater than Aaron\u2019s priesthood, and in the 21st<\/sup> century, we are recipients of that priesthood.\u00a0 There are all kinds of thing Jesus is doing to and through and in you, not as Davidic king but in His function as High Priest.\u00a0 This, of course, refutes the idea that we have to go to a human priest to contact God or to get my sins forgiven, or to get cleansed.\u00a0 Why would you ever want to go through a human priest when there is the Highest Priest, functioning not after the order of Aaron but after the order of Melchizedek whom you can access at any moment.\u00a0 No appointment is needed; that is why Hebrews 4:15, \u2018Let us go boldly in the throne room of God that we may receive grace [not grace to get saved but for daily life] and help in time of need.\u2019\r\n\r\nIf you are in need, just access your Priest; this is something that Jesus is currently doing at the Father's right hand and that has nothing to do with the Davidic reign.\u00a0 It is all in an area of Christology, the doctrine of Christ, called the present session of Christ.\u00a0 That was what Chafer complained about \u2014 being lost in his day and this is what is being lost in our day:\u00a0 this understanding as you can see from the writings of people\u2014 even those at Dallas Seminary don't understand it anymore.\r\n\r\nWhat else is Jesus doing today?\u00a0 He is keeping the saints.\u00a0 Chafer says that this is why the Arminians, those who believe think you can lose your salvation, don't talk about the present session of Christ because it is what keeps me in the hand of Jesus.\u00a0 Didn\u2019t Jesus make a promise in John 10:27-29, \u201cMy sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28<\/sup> and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish<\/u><\/strong> [ou m\u0113; ai\u014dnia\u2014<\/em><\/strong>in the Greek \u2018never perish\u2019<\/em> is a translation from two negatives.\u00a0 In Greek, when there are two negatives together, it is like having 50 exclamation points after something!\u00a0 It is the strongest negation you can possibly have, and if that wasn\u2019t enough, and I don't know why the English translators didn\u2019t pick up on this, but it has two negations and then ai\u014dnia<\/em><\/strong>, which means \u2018forever<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 You are in His hand and absolutely nothing can take you out of His hand [50 exclamation points] forever!\u00a0 That is what that is saying.\u00a0 \u201c\u2026 and no one will snatch them out of My hand.\u00a0 29<\/sup>My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them<\/u><\/strong> out of the Father's hand.\u201d<\/em>\r\n\r\nI think it would be enough if we were in the Son\u2019s hand given what that says in the Greek language, but we aren\u2019t only in the Son\u2019s hand, we are in the Father's hand in what is called the double grip of grace.\u00a0 What presently is keeping you in the Son\u2019s hand?\u00a0 The present session of Christ currently doing that.\r\n\r\n1 Peter 1:5<\/u><\/strong> says, \u201c\u2026who are protected by the power of God<\/u><\/strong>\u2026\u201d Who is protecting, keeping us in His hand and in His Father's hand \u2014 the function of Jesus Christ in His priesthood after the order of Melchizedek.\r\n\r\nBy the way, we like it when people pray for us.\u00a0 Jesus is also praying for us.\r\n\r\nRomans 8:34<\/u><\/strong> says, \u201cWho is he who condemns?\u00a0 Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God [present session\u2014what is He doing for us in His present session?] who also intercedes for us.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe book of Hebrews more than any other book of the Bible documents the present session of Christ, and it says the same thing in Hebrews 7:25<\/u><\/strong>, \u201cTherefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through him, since He always lives<\/em><\/strong> to make intercession for them.\u201d\u00a0 Some people says that they live for the weekend; do you eat to live or live to eat?\u00a0 When you say that you live for something, you are saying that is the most important part of your life.\u00a0 Here, in His present session, Jesus lives to make intercession for you and me!\r\n\r\nIn His present session at the Father's right hand, Christ is an advocate for the Saints.\u00a0 1 John 2:1<\/u><\/strong> says, \u201cWe have an advocate.\u201d\u00a0 That is legal language.\u00a0 The verse reads, \u201cMy little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.\u00a0 And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father\u2026 [who is our advocate?\u00a0 Johnny Cochran]?\u00a0 No, Jesus Christ the righteous; \u2026\u201d\u00a0 [Talk about a good defense attorney]!\r\n\r\nHebrews 9:24<\/u><\/strong> says, \u201cFor Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; \u2026\u201d\u00a0 Why in the world would I need an advocate?\u00a0 Who is the prosecuting attorney?\u00a0 Satan.\u00a0 Just read Job 1:9-10; 2:4-5 where satan brings a false accusation against Job\u2019s character.\u00a0 Satan said, \u2018if you take away some of his creature comforts and damage his health, and he will curse you to your face, God.\u2019\u00a0 That is the nature of satan.\r\n\r\nZechariah 3:1<\/u><\/strong>, satan appeared to accuse the high priest, Joshua.\r\n\r\nLuke 22:31<\/u><\/strong> Jesus said of satan to Peter, \u201cSimon, Simon, satan has requested permission to sift you as wheat.\u201d\r\n\r\nRevelation\u00a0 12:10<\/u><\/strong> regarding how frequently does satan accuse the brethren \u2014 \u201cday and night.\u201d\r\n\r\nWith that kind of prosecuting attorney, aren\u2019t you glad you have an advocate?\u00a0 Everyone needs an advocate in the legal system, on the job, someone who will stand up for you, and that is essentially what Jesus is doing now at the right hand of the Father in His present session \u2014 not to be confused with the Davidic reign.\r\n\r\nWhat else is Jesus doing?\u00a0 He is restoring broken fellowship.\u00a0 Does anyone here sin as a Christian?\u00a0 Of course, as Christians, we sin.\u00a0 It isn't good, but we very easily go back to our sin nature.\u00a0 So, when you sin, did you lose your salvation?\u00a0 No, because you are in the double grip of grace.\u00a0 Your salvation is a done deal.\u00a0 What did happen is that fellowship between you and God is injured.\u00a0 When I offend my wife, not if but when, we are still married.\u00a0 If we are still legally married, our position didn\u2019t change on a legal basis.\u00a0 What was injured was my moment-by-moment intimacy and enjoyment of her on a moment-by-moment basis.\u00a0 That is what was injured.\r\n\r\nThat is what sin does in the life of a Christian.\u00a0 Sin does not take away your salvation; it damages the intimacy that you could be having with God which will continue until that unconfessed sin is dealt with.\u00a0 There is a ministry that Jesus does in His present session to restore broken fellowship; that is where 1 John 1:9 comes in.\u00a0 It says, in 1 John 1:9, \"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.\" \u00a0That isn't the gospel to the unsaved.\u00a0 I know that because the next chapter \u2014 1 John 2:1, you have verses 9 and 10, then in the same context as \u201cMy little children.\u201d\u00a0 So, what happens is the child of God can go back to the sin nature and sin, but what happened is not that you lost your salvation, but intimacy was damaged.\u00a0 Consequently, what must be done to get the fellowship restored is confession of your sin(s) to Christ.\u00a0 Now \u2018confess\u2019 here is the Greek word, \u2018Homo\u2019 which means same, \u2018homologeo<\/em>,\u2019 \u2018logeo\u2019<\/em> means \u2018to speak;\u2019 \u2018homologeo\u2019 <\/em>means basically to agree with God that your sin is wrong.\u00a0 If you do that, you don\u2019t get saved again, but fellowship between you and God is restored just as it is when you offend your spouse.\u00a0 When you have apologized for what you have done, fellowship is restored.\u00a0 You were just as married before you offended your spouse as you were after.\u00a0 So, apology doesn\u2019t get you more married; it restores enjoyment in the relationship.\u00a0 So, 1 John 1:9 is something that Jesus is currently doing at the Father's right hand that is vital to the Christian\u2019s life.\r\n\r\nLewis Sperry Chaffer puts it this way: \u201cThe effect of the Christian\u2019s sin upon himself is that he loses his fellowship with God, his joy, his peace, and his power [not salvation]. On the other hand, these experiences [fellowship, joy, peace, and power] are restored in infinite grace on the sole ground that he confesses [homologeo<\/em>\u2014agrees with God concerning his sin; then fellowship is restored] his sin (1 John 1:9).\u201d\r\n\r\nThat is something Jesus is doing currently in His present session in His role as Melchizedekian priest.\u00a0 Don't you think that relates directly to your life?\u00a0 It relates to mine.\u00a0 How could I even live the Christian life without understanding what He is doing in His present session?\r\n\r\nHe also disciplines His children.\u00a0 Amen?\r\n\r\nHebrews 12:5-13<\/u><\/strong>, \u201cWhom the Lord loves He chastens.\u201d\u00a0 His chastening is a sign of His ownership over us.\r\n\r\nWhat a list that is!\u00a0 Would you agree with the quote I gave earlier that, \u2018We don't believe that we are in the Kingdom now, so we must believe that Jesus is doing nothing.\u2019\u00a0 Obviously, that is a fundamental and total misunderstanding of the vital role of Jesus now in His present session.\u00a0 In fact, my list is so long that I had to add this one at the last minute.\r\n
                \r\n \t
              1. John 14:1-4<\/u><\/strong>, regarding what else He is doing at the Father's right hand. He is preparing a place for you.\u00a0 He says, \u201c\u2026I go to prepare a place for you.\u00a0 If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself\u2026\u201d\u00a0 So, before He comes and receives us to Himself via the rapture, what is He doing right now?\u00a0 He is currently preparing a place for us.\u00a0 If He has been working on that place for 2,000 years, it might be even nicer than our sanctuary.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nThe above are all things He is doing, not as Davidic King, but at the Father's right hand.\u00a0 The mistake people are making is trying to confuse this session with some kind of spiritual form of the Kingdom.\r\n\r\nCharles Ryrie said, \u201cIf Christ inaugurated His Davidic reign at His Ascension [we don't believe that He inaugurated His Davidic reign at His Ascension; that is what progressive dispensationalists teach; what 'kingdom now' theologians teaching and apparently what David Anderson is teaching].\u00a0 If Christ inaugurated His Davidic Reign at His Ascension, does it not seem incongruous that His first act as reigning Davidic king was the sending of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:33, something not even included in the promises of the Davidic Covenant.\u00a0 If this is the Davidic reign, why is it that the first thing He did have nothing to do with the Davidic Covenant, the sending of the Holy Spirit?\u00a0 Remember what He said to the disciples in the upper room, that \u2018it is to your advantage that I go away?\u2019\u00a0 They're panicked that He is leaving.\u00a0 \u2018It is to your advantage that I go away because when I go, He will come and He will be in you, the Paraclete and with you forever!\u2019\u00a0 That isn't the Davidic kingdom and not what is promised in the Davidic kingdom.\r\n\r\nLewis Sperry Chafer says, \u201cOver and above all the stupendous present ministry of the resurrected, exalted Savior already noted is the attitude which He is said to maintain toward the day when, coming back to the earth, He will defeat all enemies and take the throne to reign.\u00a0 Important, indeed, is the revelation which discloses the fact that Christ is now in the attitude of expectation toward the oncoming day when, returning on the clouds of heaven, He will vanquish every foe\u2026Hebrews 10:13 records His expectation, which reads:\u00a0 \u2018From henceforth expecting till His enemies be made His footstool\u2026As High Priest over the true tabernacle on high, the Lord Jesus Christ has entered into heaven itself there to minister as priest in behalf of those who are His own in the world (Hebrew 8:1-2)\u2026 The fact that He sat down on His Father's throne and not on His own throne reveals the truth, so constantly and consistently taught in the Scriptures, that He did not set up a kingdom on the earth at His first advent into the world, but that He is now \u2018expecting\u2019 until the time when His kingdom shall come in the earth and the divine will shall be done on earth as it is done in heaven.\u00a0 \u2018The kingdoms of this world\u2019 are yet to become \u2018the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign forever and ever\u2019 (Rev 11:15), Father and He will give Him the nations for His inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for His possession (Psalm 2:8).\u00a0 However, Scripture clearly indicates too that He is not now establishing that kingdom rule in the earth (Matt 25:31-46), but that rather He is calling out from both the Jews and Gentiles a heavenly people who are related to Him as His Body and Bride.\u00a0 After the present purpose is accomplished, He will return and \u2018build again the tabernacle of David, which is falling down\u2019 (Acts 15:13-18).\u00a0 Though He is a King-Priest according to the Melchizedek type (Hebrews 5:10; 7:1-3), He is now serving as Priest and not as King.\u201d\r\n\r\nIn other words, the Kingdom is going to come; all of the prophecies about the Kingdom will be fulfilled one day, and at the right hand of the Father, Jesus is looking, and Chafer gave the references in Hebrews.\u00a0\u00a0 He is looking back to the Cross; He is looking forward to His future Kingdom, but He is in a position now where He is ministering as High Priest doing all the things we have talked about tonight, and probably more after the order of Melchizedek.\u00a0 What Chafer is doing there is keeping the three offices of Christ distinct.\u00a0 That is not what is happening now in this 'kingdom now' conversation.\r\n\r\nLast quote, \u201cSimilarly, the earthly kingdom that according to the Scriptures had its origin in the covenant made to David, which is mundane and literal in its original form and equally as mundane and literal in uncounted references to it in all subsequent Scriptures which trace it on to its consummation [1947 language], is by theological legerdemain <\/u><\/strong>[have you recently used legerdemain<\/em> in your Twitter conversations?\u00a0 I had to look it up, so I put the meaning in parentheses] (trickery, deception) metamorphosed into a spiritual monstrosity <\/u><\/strong>[strong language] in which an absent King seated on His Father's throne in heaven is accepted in lieu of the theocratic monarch of David\u2019s line seated on David\u2019s throne in Jerusalem.\u201d\u00a0 He is saying that if you confuse the present session of Christ with the Davidic reign of Christ, then you are responsible for creating a spiritual monstrosity.\u00a0 You are also responsible for theological deception because how could it be the Kingdom of Christ today when the King isn't even present?\u00a0 They will say that you don't think that Jesus is doing anything.\u00a0 But He is doing a lot of stuff, but as High Priest in His present session at the right hand of the Father, not to be confused with the Davidic regal authority of Christ.\u00a0 When you merge the two together and don't pay attention to the three offices of Christ, and you merge offices two and three, and all the 'kingdom now' theologians do this, Chafer\u2019s view is that you have just metamorphosed something into a spiritual monstrosity.\u00a0 You are mixing two things that don't go together.\r\n\r\nSo, that ends the section on the arguments of 'kingdom now' theologians dealing with this argument of alleged present inactivity.\u00a0 Next week we start the final part of this study, and I think this will go by a lot faster \u2014 Who Cares?\u00a0 Why Does It Matter, and I will try to make the point that theology is like dominoes in a row.\u00a0 If you knock over one, the rest will fall.\u00a0 I will try to demonstrate that virtually every false doctrine today in the Church, and I have nine doctrines listed, is traceable to the idea of people saying that we are currently in the Kingdom.\u00a0 See what they are doing is shooting at the guy on the wall, trying to knock down a theological false doctrine when they should be shooting at the foundation of the building because the foundation is the idea that we are in the Kingdom. \u00a0From that wrongheaded belief comes these nine false doctrines.\u00a0 I will show you how all of these doctrines that everyone is upset about today are attributable to 'kingdom now' theology.\u00a0 'kingdom now' theology is, in other words, the root of all of these.\r\n\r\n\u00a0<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n ","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t