#Gospel of the Kingdom

[thinkingonscripture]

What Must I Believe to Be Saved?

The Terms of Salvation God requires that certain information be believed before He saves someone. This means saving faith requires content. Though faith alone is the only requirement by God, the content of faith has changed throughout the ages, depending on what God revealed at a particular time. What God revealed to Adam and Eve was different than what He revealed to Abraham, and what He…

[superbdonutpoetry]

The Covenant Law

● A covenant (contract) is made up of laws (rules) and conditions. ● A covenant (contract) always has a minimum of two parties. ● One party draws up the contract and stipulates the conditions for the other party to abide by, and in return for abiding by these conditions, they receive something in return. ● Both parties are stipulated to keep their end of the contract. If you ever wanted to…

[the-big-picture-bible-blog]

Why did Cornelius receive the Holy Spirit before Water Baptism?

QUESTION: Explain how Cornelius and the Gentiles had received the remission of sins by believing in Him as Peter said and received the Holy Ghost BEFORE water baptism. I still say Peter did not preach another gospel as that gospel of the kingdom is the same gospel of grace as the gospel of the kingdom was never going to happen until after His death, resurrection and ascension as Jesus said to…

[cristianpaduraru]

God Bless Giving Tuesday Gospel Broadcast

God Bless Giving Tuesday Gospel Broadcast

This Giving Tuesday donate to Relate4ever Resources to provide Gospel broadcasts and online Bible schools reaching internationally all around the world. Giving Tuesday is a great opportunity to make a difference and help us share the Good News in every nation speaking English, Romanian, Spanish. Thank you for being part of Relate4ever family, and we ask that you pray for this ministry. Help us…

[holystormfire]

[wiirocku]

Mark 1:15 (MEV) - saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel.”

[thurifer-at-heart]

Rachel Held Evans: What is the kingdom of heaven?

When Jesus himself talks about the good news, he frames it primarily in terms of “the kingdom of God." … As N. T. Wright and other New Testament scholars have shown, it’s important to understand that kingdom terminology refers not to some faraway paradise filled with disembodied souls, but rather to the will and reign of God, unleashed into the world through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. "God’s kingdom in the preaching of Jesus,” explained Wright, “refers not to postmortem destiny, not to our escape from this world into another one, but God’s sovereign rule coming ‘on earth as it is in heaven.’ . . . Heaven, in the Bible, is not a future destiny but the other, hidden dimension of ordinary life—God’s dimension, if you like. God made heaven and earth; at the last he will remake both and join them together forever.” (Wright, Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church, 19) What this means precisely remains something of a mystery, for Jesus’ favorite way to speak about the kingdom is through story, riddle, and metaphor. The kingdom, Jesus taught, is right here—present yet hidden, immanent yet transcendent. It is at hand—among us and beyond us, now and not-yet. The kingdom of heaven, he said, belongs to the meek, the peacemakers, the merciful, and those who hunger and thirst for God. It advances not through power and might, but through missions of mercy, kindness, and humility. In this kingdom, many who are last will be first and many who are first will be last. The rich don’t usually get it, Jesus said, but children always do. This is a kingdom whose savior arrives not on a warhorse, but a donkey, not through triumph and conquest, but through death and resurrection. This kingdom is the only kingdom that will last.

—Rachel Held Evans, Inspired, p. 153-154

[apenitentialprayer]

But let us return to the third temptation. Its true content becomes apparent when we realize that throughout history it is constantly taking on new forms. The Christian empire attempted at an early stage to use the faith in order to cement political unity. The Kingdom of Christ was now expected to take the form of a political kingdom and its splendor. The powerlessness of faith, the earthly powerlessness of Jesus Christ, was to be given the helping hand of political military might. This temptation to use power to secure the faith has arisen again and again in varied forms throughout the centuries, and again and again faith has risked being suffocated in the embrace of power. This struggle for the freedom of the Church, the struggle to avoid identifying Jesus' Kingdom with any political structure, is one that had to be fought century after century. For the fusion of faith and political power always comes at a price: faith becomes the servant of power and must bend to its criteria.

- Pope Benedict XVI (Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration, pages 39-40)

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

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His disciples said to Him, "When will the Kingdom come?" Jesus said, "It will not come by waiting for it. It will not be a matter of saying 'Here it is' or 'There it is.' Rather, the Kingdom of the Father is spread out upon the earth, and men do not see it."

—Gospel of Thomas v 113. Above: the original text (c 60-100 CE). The text bears parallels to Luke and other synoptic gospels, yet it is far earlier than any surviving synoptic text.

[Robert Scott Horton]

[officialyourdailyinspiration]

Born Again

Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” — John 3:3 | Legacy Standard Bible (LSB) Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. Cross References: Ezekiel 36:26; Matthew 19:24; Matthew 21:31; Mark 9:47; Mark 10:14; John 3:4-5

[superbdonutpoetry]

Gentile Salvation in the End Times (Tribulation)

These verses… Isaiah 49:5-7 And now, saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength. [6] And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also…

[the-big-picture-bible-blog]

More ignorance of rightly dividing the Word

QUESTION: Paul contradicts himself saying even dead in sin your saved by grace then he says after knowing the truth if you sin there is no longer a sacrifice for sin. Why can’t Bible thumpers see Paul’s lies? ANSWER: You draw attention to this supposed contradiction because you appear to be unaware of rightly dividing the Word of truth. There are two parts to God’s redemption plan. Prophetic…

[myremnantarmy]

𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝟐𝟑, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑

Wednesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel Mt 20:1-16

Jesus told his disciples this parable:

"The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner

who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard.

After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage,

he sent them into his vineyard.

Going out about nine o'clock,

he saw others standing idle in the marketplace,

and he said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard,

and I will give you what is just.'

So they went off.

And he went out again around noon,

and around three o'clock, and did likewise.

Going out about five o'clock,

he found others standing around, and said to them,

'Why do you stand here idle all day?'

They answered, 'Because no one has hired us.'

He said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard.'

When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman,

'Summon the laborers and give them their pay,

beginning with the last and ending with the first.'

When those who had started about five o'clock came,

each received the usual daily wage.

So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more,

but each of them also got the usual wage.

And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying,

'These last ones worked only one hour,

and you have made them equal to us,

who bore the day's burden and the heat.'

He said to one of them in reply,

'My friend, I am not cheating you.

Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?

Take what is yours and go.

What if I wish to give this last one the same as you?

Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money?

Are you envious because I am generous?'

Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last."

[samantabrzozowska]

"Yeah, God is great in 100 %!"

~ Sam

[brianbachochin]

1 Corinthians 1:26-31: He Who Glories, Let Him Glory in the Lord

[holystormfire]

John 7:40-52

Nicodemus challenged his fellow pharisees.

Nicodemus Visiting Jesus,

Painting by Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1957),

Painted in 1899,

Oil on canvas

© Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts

Gospel Reading

Several people who had been listening to Jesus said, ‘Surely he must be the prophet’, and some said, ‘He is the Christ’, but others said, ‘Would the Christ be from Galilee? Does not scripture say that the Christ must be descended from David and come from the town of Bethlehem?’ So the people could not agree about him. Some would have liked to arrest him, but no one actually laid hands on him.

The police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees who said to them, ‘Why haven’t you brought him?’ The police replied, ‘There has never been anybody who has spoken like him.’ ‘So’ the Pharisees answered ‘you have been led astray as well? Have any of the authorities believed in him? Any of the Pharisees? This rabble knows nothing about the Law – they are damned.’ One of them, Nicodemus – the same man who had come to Jesus earlier – said to them, ‘But surely the Law does not allow us to pass judgement on a man without giving him a hearing and discovering what he is about?’ To this they answered, ‘Are you a Galilean too? Go into the matter, and see for yourself: prophets do not come out of Galilee.’

Reflection on the painting

In today's Gospel reading, we encounter Nicodemus, marking his second of three appearances in the Gospel of John. Initially introduced as a curious seeker who approaches Jesus under the cover of night, Nicodemus is portrayed as intrigued by Jesus yet hesitant to fully embrace his teachings. His journey of faith is subtly woven through John's narrative, culminating in his participation alongside Joseph of Arimathea in ensuring Jesus receives a respectful (indeed, lavish) burial. This progression illustrates Nicodemus's gradual movement towards a deeper understanding and commitment to Jesus. Our reading today is the second (and middle) appearance of Nicodemus. Despite being a Pharisee, he displays remarkable bravery by questioning the outright dismissal of Jesus by his peers, who criticize Jesus based on his origin in Galilee, a region they regard as insignificant compared to the religious hub of Jerusalem. Nicodemus advocates for fairness and due process, arguing that Jesus should not be judged without first being heard. This stance places him at odds with the prevailing opinions of his colleagues, and his challenge is met with scorn, evidenced by their sarcastic comment "Are you from Galilee too?"

Nicodemus's growing relationship with Jesus left him increasingly isolated in the world where he had been so much at home. He actually reminds us that as we grow in our relationship with Jesus, there is often a price to be paid. We may find ourselves a lone voice among our peers. At such times, we know that the Lord is always with us.

Henry Ossawa Tanner painted our canvas in 1899, depicting the first of the three mentions of Nicodemus in John's Gospel (John 3:1-21). The painting was Tanner's entry to the 1899 Paris Salon. We see Nicodemus talking privately to Christ in the evening, a good example of Tanner's nocturnal light paintings. The painting was purchased there for the Wilstadt Collection, Philadelphia, and is now in the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. The narrative of Nicodemus' meeting with Jesus held significant meaning for Henry Ossawa Tanner's father, Benjamin Tucker Tanner. He was a Bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Church and had aspirations for his son to join him in the ministry. While Henry's decision to pursue a career as an artist fell short of his father's dream, his talent for painting ultimately produced works that his father could admire and support.

Article by Father Patrick van der Vorst