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Kingdom Government

There is a basic difference between the government of the Kingdom of God and the governments of man. Both apply to the earth and mankind, but their motives and purposes are quite different.

The philosophy of Kingdom government is based upon Love commanding the atoms to form structures, including matter. In speaking of atoms, I mean the irreducible divine particles of spirit, not the atoms of modern science, which can be split into smaller particles. These true atoms create mass through the command of Love. Mass forms structures which, though not equal, serves the Creator in unity and purpose. This is Kingdom government.

Love is a magnet, rather than a mere force as we think of force. Jesus came to manifest the Love of the Father, and this was the motive behind His willingness to die on the cross for the redemption of the world. He said in John 12:32, "And I, if I be lifted up [on the cross] will draw all men to Myself" -- by My magnetic personality, as my friend Ron is fond of adding.

Jesus is the great Magnet. People were drawn to Him instinctively, unless they were bound by the religious structure that had closed their eyes. Those who rejected Him were those who had too much to lose by allowing Kingdom government, because it meant that they would lose their dualistic position of authority over the commoners.

The governments of men are the result of the entry of sin and death into the world, which put mind over matter--rather than spirit over matter. The soul's mind itself is part of the world of structure and is an effect, rather than a cause of all things. In the beginning, Love acted upon the particles of spirit called "atoms" to create the soul with its mind. Though the soul was a distinct expression of spirit, it was unique as well, because unity implies two entities acting as one. In such a state of unity, "government" takes on a whole new meaning and application.

Sin and death brought disunity between soul and spirit. Pride caused the soul to mistrust the spirit and to trust its own limited understanding. The soul believed its own understanding to be right, and so it revolted against the spirit, breaking the unity between them.

The soul's usurpation of authority spawned Duality in structure. The unity between the atoms and structure was replaced by an artificial government based upon the soul's assumed superiority over others. This is the source of men's aristocratic ideas among earthly governments. These governments are not based upon Love, but upon force.

Yet considering the fact that sin and death have entered the world, and human governments as a result, how do we function as Kingdom believers in such a world? Is government intrinsically evil, as many anarchists and libertarians believe? Are such governments a necessary evil? I think of government itself as neutral; of more importance is WHO is governing, because men ultimately determine the quality of government. Government is simply one kind of structure in the earth, which is supposed to serve, rather than to be self-serving or self-perpetuating. If it serves God and man by Love, then it is not far from the Kingdom of God.

I prefer to think of man-oriented governments simply for what they are--a consequence of sin and death. In that sense, they are a judgment from God. There is a close connection between consequence and judgment. When Israel demanded to have a king like all the other nations in 1 Samuel 8:5, the people were rejecting the direct rule of God. God told Samuel in verse 7, "they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being King over them."

The purpose of the Kingdom of God was to bring men back under the direct rule of God by reinstating spirit over soul and its structure. The Bible admonishes us to be "led by the Spirit," speaking of the Holy Spirit that is infused into our own human spirit. Put another way, it is a change of government, a reversal of the soul's usurpation and control through the dualistic mindset.

When the Spirit leads the soul, it is Kingdom government in action. It flourishes in a sea of Love, which rules by magnetic attraction, rather than by outright "control." Love unifies all things, not by fear which controls, but by joyful attraction. This is the goal, the will of God, and it will be accomplished at the end of time.

Meanwhile, however, as potential and aspiring overcomers, we are still living in a world that is ruled by sin and death. Governments are instituted to put men in power over other men, and laws are instituted to coerce men by fear of consequences to be good to their neighbors. Jesus faced these same obstacles, and it cost Him His life. He submitted to it, knowing that it was the will of the Father that He die at the hands of those who violently disagreed with Him. Then He rose from the dead to prove that the power of Love was greater than the power of the sword.

He was raised from the dead by the power of Love, because Love commands the atoms and they are formed in whatever way is of service. We ourselves will be transformed by that same power of Love. Paul tells us in 1 Cor. 15:51 and 52,

"Behold, I tell you a mystery [secret]; we shall not all sleep [die], but we shall all be changed in a moment [Greek: atomos] at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed."

The qualitative change occurs in the atoms--not the atoms of modern scientists, but the irreducible particles that defined the word in Paul's day. We know them as spiritual particles, even if Epicurus himself was a materialist and thought of them as matter.

The overcomers who lived in past generations will be resurrected, and the overcomers living in that appointed time will be "changed" without going through the grave. This event will give the earth not just one perfect Man (Jesus), but the Body of Christ, who will manifest the Love of God to the rest of creation. They will form God's Kingdom government upon the earth--but not with little thrones and many servants, as worldly governments have had. They will be ordinary people, commoners with a noble purpose. They will show the world by example, not by coercion. They will be expressions of the Love of God, not the petty selfishness of man's pride. They will teach men and women how to be what their Creator intended for them to be at the beginning. And their words will be proven by the fact of their resurrection and by the creative, healing, restorative power of their words.

This Body of Christ will have Jesus Christ as his Head. It is the new corporate Man that is in unity with Christ and all the atoms of the universe. Their Love will command the atoms, and those atoms will begin to form new structures in the earth that are in unity with Him. This is the creation of the New Heavens and the New Earth (Isaiah 65:17). These forms were created from spiritual particles by Love; and they will be re-created by Love. Whatever they create by Love is their eternal inheritance. The Love and Liberty expressed through this one New Man will draw all men to Jesus Christ until the creation itself is "set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God" (Rom. 8:21).