The very nature of God is the foundation of his right to rule and that nature is also being expressed in his rule. Covenant love, mercy and faithfulness go before him – wherever his rule is manifested, there will be kindness, love, mercy, faithfulness and fidelity. Love, the covenantal nature of the triune God, is the cause, the motivational power behind everything he does because he is love. Only when one is ruled by love, one can exercise authority right – without love there is even no right to rule.

God’s faithfulness is the guarantee that he will bring to fulfilment, to completion, to glorification everything under his rule – guarantee of everlasting, unshakeable rule.

God’s righteousness is the guarantee that God’s rule will always take the right actions. God’s justice is the guarantee that the judgements of the King will always be just and a guarantee that all will receive a fair treatment. Righteousness and justice are expressions of covenant love and faithfulness

When the sovereign triune God created heaven he established his throne on a firm foundation as an expression of his relational nature of love. According to the Bible the foundation for God’s rule is his unchangeable, holy, good, moral character:

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you. (Psalm 89:14)

When we say “God is spirit” (John 4:24) we speak of the relational God who is the source of life and we acknowledge that the eternal dynamic vitality of the triune God overflows to creation. The God who is dynamic vitality within the eternal Trinitarian life relates to the world as the source and sustainer of created life. The world was created by a free act of love for a wonderful purpose that triune God has destined to be fulfilled!

The divine life is the eternal activity of the Father who as the fountain of deity generates the Son to share in his own divinity. The self-giving of the Father for the Son, in turn, is reciprocated in the Son’s self-giving for the Father. This relationship between the Father and the Son comes forth as the third Trinitarian member, the Holy Spirit. Because he is the Spirit of the Father and the Son, the Spirit of love, the Spirit is the essence of the triune God.

Because God is love, God is self-giving. The sovereign God is a community of love, and we may as well say that God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is a kingdom of love as we find headship and submission within God himself. There is a constant movement of giving and receiving, of headship and submission in the divine life of love. Jesus hinted to this vital divine relationship when he said:

For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of

John 5:26-27

Love is a relational term, requiring both subject and object (someone loves someone else). Because God is triune, the divine reality already comprehends both love’s subject and object. The Father loved the Son and the Son loved the Father and this love between the Father and the Son is the Holy Spirit which is the Spirit of love. Therefore the essence of God lies in the relationship between the Father and the Son (love) which is the Spirit. In all eternity God is the social Trinity, the community of love.

The first words of the Bible are dynamic in their profound simplicity: In the beginning God! Before anything else existed the eternal God existed as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The essence of God is love according to the apostolic teaching (1 John 4:8). The triune God is absolute complete in himself as the life of the Father, Son and Spirit is best characterised by our word love. Love builds the unity of the one eternal covenantal God. The Bible teaches that there is no God but the Father, the Son and the Spirit bound together throughout eternity.

Understanding the Kingdom of God is the key to understand the eternal plan and purpose of God in Jesus Christ. He began his ministry by preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. He made the Kingdom of God the centre of his life and ministry. Through his Kingdom consciousness his life was meaningful and with a purpose.

(more…)

The Kingdom of God is! It is the very heart of our universe! The Kingdom of God is! That is the central message of Jesus Christ and his followers. The message of the Kingdom is presented to us in many dynamic statements beginning with “the Kingdom of God is” or “the Kingdom of God is not”. I like to explore these potent statements of the Bible.

The Kingdom of God is! That is the good news in a world of competing ideologies. The Kingdom of God is not an ideology; it is the ultimate reality! The Kingdom of God is! That very message brings hope to those who are seeking for meaning and purpose of life.

The Kingdom of God is! In a world where everything is uncertain the message of the Kingdom provides the unshakable foundation for an exciting life of exploration of its mysteries.

The Kingdom of God is! It is not tied to the past or locked into a distant future. It is the ever present and expanding presence of the saving grace of God manifesting itself in people and communities.

Brian D. Mclaren has made many resources available for download at his site. I was very much blessed by his Jesus Creed which I have copied into this entry for all to read an be challenged by it.

(more…)