Seek First the Kingdom - Part 1

“The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.” (Acts 1:1-3)

The books of the prophets begin with a statement in Joshua on the Law of Moses, “ Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful where ever you go,” (Josh 1:7). The last book of prophecy concludes with a similar statement from Malichi, “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel,” (Mal 4:4). From these two passages, the sages understood that the purpose of the prophets was to illuminate and reinforce the teachings of Moses.

The Book of Acts begins with Jesus “speaking things concerning the kingdom of God.” Twenty-eight chapters later, Acts concludes with Paul, “preaching the kingdom of God” (Acts 28:30-31), from his rented quarters in Rome. Following the pattern of the prophets, we can suggest from the book of Acts that the primary work of the Church is to teach "the kingdom of God."

Despite this pattern in Acts, mainline Protestant denominations more often focus on "faith" and "belief" to the detriment of teachings on the kingdom and related principles conveyed in scripture. A simple word comparison from the NASB will show that the kingdom is mentioned in the gospel accounts far more often than salvation, faith, or even more than belief.

Subject________ Total_____ Gospels/Acts_______ Epistles
Kingdom_______ 165_________ 136____________ 28
Salvation________ 51_________12_____________ 39
Saved__________ 51_________ 30_____________ 21
Savior_________ 24__________ 5_____________ 19
Believe________ 245________ 124(81-John)______ 121
Faith_________ 308_________ 53_____________ 255

The word comparison suggests that a fundamental change of emphasis occurred in the Greek Text as the story moved from the gospel accounts to the epistles. “Faith” came to displace the prior emphasis of Jesus on the kingdom and obedience to the commandments that reveal the kingdom. In an effort to provide balance to the teachings of Paul James wrote, "Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead," (James 2:17).

The Church has long attributed the change in emphasis found in Paul's epistles to the atoning death of Jesus on the cross. While the death of Jesus on the cross stands as the pivotal event in history and fundamental to the foundation of the believer’s faith, it did not change the message spoken by Jesus Who continued “speaking…things concerning the kingdom.” The priority of Jesus remained unchanged after the cross as it had been before the cross, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you,” (Matt 6:34).

With great caution and inadequate research, I suggest the following. The perceived change in emphasis with Paul’s epistles might better be explained by a change in audience, not doctrine, as the Church moved from a Jewish audience into the Gentle world. While the average Jew had knowledge of God, having been “entrusted with the oracles of God” (Rom 3:2), Gentiles were largely “strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world,” (Eph 2:12). Many gentiles who heard the preaching of Paul simply had little or no prior foundation in the world of God.

The Roman world was far different than the world of the first century Jew. The Roman Empire was a polytheistic pagan world, which made the direct transition to faith in Jesus as the Messiah a much broader and more difficult step than for the Jew. A testimony to this difficulty is recorded in the book of Acts where Paul preached to the men of Athens about the one true God, the need for repentance, and the coming judgment, (Acts 17:22-31). Scripture does not record if Paul talked to the men of Athens about Jesus or the kingdom. I believe that such a discussion would have been to difficult in the beginning as some dismissed Paul after they heard him preach about the resurrection of the dead (Acts 17:32).

Some of the men of Athens did believe at Paul's preaching, (Acts 17:34). Belief in the One True God became the necessary first step for Gentiles who had been immersed in a pagan world. Teaching about the kingdom and obedience to the commandments of the kingdom had to be proceeded by belief in the Father and Jesus as the Christ. Belief became the foundation on which the kingdom could be built.

Paul’s primary calling was to turn the hearts of polytheistic pagans into people who believed in the one true God. Once belief was achieved, it was reasonable to expect that new believers would begin to learn about the kingdom, “for Moses from ancient generations…is read in the synagogues every Sabbath,” (Acts 15:20-21). The words of James suggests that learning would continue. As strange as this suggestion might first appear, once a person believes, the emphasis of their study should move toward understanding the kingdom so that the principles of the kingdom might be lived out in their life.

An even more radical thought follows. Once a person comes to believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior, the the gospel accounts and Acts should be studied in equal measure, if not greater measure, than the epistles of Paul, which is not the case in most mainline Protestant churches today. The gospel accounts present a clearer picture of the kingdom, as it is frequently written, "The kingdom of heaven is like...." Paul himself demonstrated this priority of teaching the kingdom when he arrived in Rome and was received by an audience that was primarily, “the leading men of the Jews,” (Acts 28:17).

“When they had set a day for Paul, they came to him at his lodging in large numbers; and he was explaining to them by solemnly testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus, from both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets, from morning until evening.” (Acts 28:23)

As Paul had the opportunity and time to minister to the Gentiles, he preached the kingdom.

“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.” (Acts 28:30-31)

Notice the sequence of Luke’s words indicate that Jesus was taught by Paul, both to the Jew and the Gentile, in the context of the kingdom and not separate from the kingdom.

“For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” (Matt 6:13)

Scott