The Message of Jesus and the Local Church

The Good News that Jesus preached 2000 years ago is much different than what we hear in the church today. Today the messages that are spread throughout the body of Christ are ones that appear to be watered down half-truths. Either the Gospel is only about the forgiveness of sin or it is of the great moral teachings of Jesus. It could not be any further from the truth. The Good News that Jesus proclaimed was the availability of the Kingdom of God; something that is seldom heard of in the church today.

Jesus’ earthly ministry was preaching the availability of the Kingdom of God. In Matthew 4.17, Jesus says, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” The Kingdom of God is synonymous with the Kingdom of Heaven, each representing the effective range of God’s power. Although it is within the spiritual realm, it interacts with the physical one, thus allowing it to be visible. The Kingdom of God was manifested when Jesus performed signs and miracles and this ministry was continued through the work of his disciples.

The Kingdom of God can first be witnessed in the Creation. The relationship that God had with Adam and Eve in the Garden is a great example of the availability of the Kingdom. Unfortunately after the fall of man, the Kingdom progressively fell into ethnic and religious captivity, paving the way for the rejection of the true Kingdom message that Jesus preached. A system had been set into place that allowed for the lost sheep of Israel to become blinded from the true desire God had for the Kingdom.

What often goes unnoticed is that the availability of the Kingdom was preached long after Christ’s death. Not only did Jesus make it his goal to preach this, but Paul adopted the same vision which is recorded in Acts 28.31 where it says about Paul, “Boldly and without hindrance he preached the Kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul’s followers and the other apostles of Jesus did the same, without hindrance boldly proclaimed the Kingdom of God. Unfortunately somewhere along the way, perhaps even influence from the lost sheep that rejected Christ’s message in the first place, the true meaning that is the availability of the Kingdom of God, was lost. Even in today’s church, the Gospel that Jesus preached appears to go unnoticed.

In today’s church there are commonly two Gospels that are preached: the Gospel of the left and the Gospel of the right. The Gospel of the left puts emphasis on Jesus as a teacher who taught humanity how to love one another. The Gospel of the right emphasizes and teaches of the forgiveness of sins. The problem with these two Gospels is that usually only one of them is preached. Some churches tend to only focus on the moral teachings of Jesus and undermine his divinity, while others merely see Jesus as the blood sacrifice for their sins; nothing more and nothing less.

The main issue that arises out of this situation is what happens when these Gospels are the only ones preached and the Gospel of Jesus is completely ignored. If the church only preached about the Gospel of the left or the Gospel of the right, there would be very little spiritual growth. It would be similar to the church receiving half-truths. The forgiveness of sins and the teachings of Jesus are only a mere fraction of what the Kingdom of God contains.

The church needs to begin preaching the Gospel of Jesus, which is the availability of the Kingdom of God. If this Gospel started being preached in the church, there would a wave of fresh power throughout the body of Christ. First, church leaders would have to begin making disciples, shifting the message to an available ‘with God’ life. More importantly, it would be a responsibility of the church to show God’s people how to live that life.

The easiest way to live out the Gospel of Jesus is through means of grace. Grace is God’s work in our life. In 1 Peter 3.18 it says, “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.” Some consider grace to be merely unmerited forgiveness; however it would be difficult to grow in unmerited forgiveness. It is likely that one would be able to allow God’s work to grow in their life, which can be accomplished through means of grace, or spiritual disciplines. The danger lies in that if not practiced within the boundaries of the Kingdom of God, spiritual disciplines can turn into legalism.

The Good News that Jesus proclaimed was the availability of the Kingdom of God; something that is seldom heard of in the church today, but it does not have to remain that way. The best part about living in the Kingdom of God is the benefits. A life of abiding peace, foundation in truth, hope, unconditional love, strength to overcome, and many others are only a glimpse at what the Kingdom of God possesses. It is changing our minds and realizing that the Kingdom of God is here, which will lead to this shift in today’s church, a shift that is desperately needed if the church is to become one to proclaim the Good News of Jesus.