Blog 21 – Covenant
When God established covenant with mankind He considered man’s obedience to the covenant. And that whatever condition was in Heaven would be brought to this earth. When God created man and placed him in the garden, He intended for man to be dependent upon Him for the knowledge of right and wrong. If man had been obedient and eaten of the Tree of Life, they would have received life. Adam and Eve yielded to the deception of Satan. They disobeyed and ate the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. In succumbing to Satan’s ploy, they came out from under God’s order. They began to determine, without God, what was right and wrong. This rebellion cost man his dominion of the earth and the right to represent Heaven on the earth. Had man been obedient to the covenant, God’s Kingdom and will would have been sustained on earth the same way it was and is in Heaven. Man would have reigned as Sons of God with dominion over the earth. Through Christ’s shed blood and death on the cross, man was brought back into right standing with God and the Kingdom was re-established.
The Kingdom is not automatically given for every man, but it is for every man who searches for and chooses to enter in through the door. The door is Jesus Christ. Those who obey His words and plan are invited to enter in through His born-again plan of salvation. Luke 16:16 says,
16 The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the Kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.
Wherever God’s will and covenant is received and obeyed, you will find the Kingdom. Where you find The Lordship of Jesus Christ actively operating, there is the Kingdom. The sovereign rule of God is over all creation forever (whether it is obeyed or not). God’s rule is sovereign over everything. He has abdicated nothing. This includes Heaven, the earth, mankind, the devil, and the nations. God ruled over the old covenant and now the new. He is a sovereign ruler. His rules cannot be limited or restricted.
There is a distinction between the sovereign rule and the covenantal rule of God. The covenantal rule of God can be limited and restricted, but sovereign rule cannot be limited. The sovereignty of God’s rule is over all His creations. Through disobedience and rebellion, Adam and Eve followed Satan’s illegal entry into the garden and the affairs of men. They had the authority to take dominion and rule over Satan. They had been placed in the garden, given dominion, and told to subdue and rule. Once Adam and Eve disobeyed and came out from under God’s rule, they had neither the power nor authority to deal with the enemy. Even though Adam and Eve disobeyed and relinquished their place in the Garden of Eden, God did not lose His sovereign rule of the earth. The earth still belonged to The Lord.1
When Jesus came to redeem mankind, He came as the second or last Adam. He regained what Adam had lost. God had never lost any sovereignty. Now through Jesus Christ God again has children in the earth. These are His born-again sons and daughters. They are called to be kings and priests (Rev. 1:6; 5:10).
We are a royal people, and our purpose is to reveal Him to this world.
1 Peter 2:9-10,
9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:
10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
We are a holy priesthood.
1 Peter 2:5,
5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
To understand more about the Kingdom of God, please listen to the audio lessons by your host, Dr. Fred Childs.