The Mystery of the Kingdom

And He said to them, He who has ears to hear, let him hear. And when He was alone, they who were about Him, with the Twelve, asked Him concerning the parable. And He said to them, To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God. But to those outside, all these things are given in parables so that seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them. (Mar 4:9-12 MKJV)

Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: (Col 1:26-27 KJVR)

And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: (Eph 3:9 KJVR)

For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: (Eph 3:1-6 KJVR)

So men ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, even as the Lord loves the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. "For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two of them shall be one flesh." This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
(Eph 5:28-32 MKJV)

So, my brothers, you also have become dead to the law by the body of Christ so that you should be married to Another, even to Him raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit to God. (Rom 7:4 MKJV)

that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
(Col 2:2-3 ESV)

The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant. (Psa 25:14 KJVR)

For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. (Rom 11:25-27 KJVR)

I believe that understanding the connection between God and Israel as Husband and wife is the key to understanding the mystery of the Kingdom of God! The covenant relationship that King Jesus has with the people in His Kingdom is a marriage and all His people united together in love will be the bride of the King! This is the secret of Jesus that we all need to see and to understand.

**Review these previous blog entries:
o United as One with Him
o Married in the Wilderness
o A Separated Relationship
o The Death of the Husband
o Married in the Wilderness, again
o A Close Relationship
o Joined by One Spirit into One Body
o A Nourished and Enlarged New Soul (Part 1)
- A Nourished and Enlarged New Soul (Part 2)
o Heir to Riches, Beautiful, and Crowned with Glory
o Baptized in His Name, Given Power & Protection

Love Your Neighbor#9 - Forgive and Reconcile

Loving your neighbor as yourself means:

I will not condemn others, but I will show mercy and forgive them, reconciling and restoring our relationship.

"Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;"
(Luk 6:37 ESV)

Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day's out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ's law.
(Gal 6:1-2 MSG)

Now, however, you should forgive him and encourage him, in order to keep him from becoming so sad as to give up completely. And so I beg you to let him know that you really do love him. (2Co 2:7-8 GNB)

From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2Co 5:16-21 ESV)

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (Joh 3:17 ESV)

Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.
(Pro 17:9 ESV)

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. (1Co 13:4-6 ESV)

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
(1Pe 4:8 ESV)

Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.
(Pro 19:11 ESV)

Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner, but blessed is he who is generous to the poor.
(Pro 14:21 ESV)

My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. (Jam 5:19-20 ESV)

Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven. "Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, 'Pay what you owe.' So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?' And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart."
(Mat 18:21-35 ESV)

Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Mat 6:9-15 ESV)

In the Kingdom, we must forgive our neighbor of all their debts, just like King Jesus did for us. Our love for each other will not be complete if we don't walk in forgiveness.