there's a certain distinction to be made clear:
@posthuman
Hi, posthuman -
Thank you for your Biblical response. It's refreshing to see someone articulate a well thought-out Biblical reply.
In response to your post on this subject, let me first say, "amen, amen, and amen"!
Yes, Psalm 8:3-6 speaks of what God has done for mankind in a general sense. But, what is God's will? From my perspective there is a distinction between what God has done, and what God's will is. God created the world in perfection; His will is that man keeps it that way. However, we know how that turned out. Likewise, in general God made man "rulers over the works of [His] hands", and God's will is for those in right standing with Him to rule the word with Him as demonstrated by the four directives given to Adam and Eve, the flood, God's prophetic vision given Abraham just after the sacrifice of Isaac was thwarted, Daniel's vision where "the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting dominion. And all dominions shall serve and obey Him" (Daniel 7:27), Jesus giving authority over cities to those who are faithful, the saints reigning with Jesus for a thousand years, and Jesus stating that those who overcome (conquer) will be granted to sit with Jesus on His throne as Jesus also overcame and sat down with His Father on His throne (Revelation 3:21).
Yes, the text of Job teaches a very important lesson regarding us being humble.
Yes, we are not called to establish a theocracy, at least not upon unbelievers. Perhaps, we can cover this topic in another post. But, my thesis is that just as Jews were under and administered Mosaic law amongst themselves, we are under and administer Christ's kingdom amongst ourselves with the Gospel as an invitiation for non-believers to join Christ's kingdom on earth.
Yes, Jesus withdrew Himself when the Jews wanted to make Him king by force. I think "by force" is the key phrase here, because Jesus later admitted that He was a king. But His kingdom does not originate from this planet, it originates from heaven toward the planet. I know people state "My kingdom is not of this world". But the problem is that this declaration is erroneously translated as "My kingdom is not on this world". This translation is erroneous because the two statements do not convey equivalent meanings. If more people studied Greek, then they would be able to recognize that Jesus is not saying His kingdom is not on the planet. Instead, He is stating that His kingdom is not of earthly origin. Moreover, we already know that Christ's kingdom is on the planet because when Jesus was asked when the kingdom would come, He stated that the kingdom does not come with observation. Instead the kingdom is within you guys. In addition, Jesus stated that if he performed miracles by the finger of God, then the kingdom had come upon the people He was speaking to. Finally, Daniel 2:44 states Christ's kingdom is on earth destroying other kingdoms.
So, yes, yes, and yes to everything you wrote. I wholeheartedly appreciate what you shared.
There are two things I'd like for you to consider. The first is that Scripture speaks in a general sense, as you have shown. And Scripture speaks in a specific sense, as I have shown. So, please consider both perspectives, because both perspectives are in Scripture, and each perspective is no more important than the other.
The second thing I'd like for you to consider is a bit more complex, because it consists of two parts. The first part is what I call Christian Promotion to Authority:
- And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all (Ephesians 1:15-22).
- But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:4-7).
- But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials. And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Luke 22:28-30).
- Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.(Matt 16:17-19)"
The second part is what I call Christian Authority in Action:
- Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.' And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them (Matt 18:15-20).
- Every place in the Bible where you see the word "church", the Greek word is ekklesia. This word means "assembly". During the 1st century, this word was a politically charged word, not a religious word. It meant people were assembled to take care of business, similar to the way a city council would convene. You'll see the word used this way in Acts 19:32 and Acts 19:39,41; but please don't neglect the context, because the context drives home the meaning of the word.
So, what's the point? The point is that this is an amazing message from our Father that extends throughout Scripture from Genesis to Revelation regarding the vision He has for us specifically. And the message is consistent.
Again, thank you for your Biblical response. I think what you've contributed is valuable and adds significant understanding to knowing God's will for us specifically and humans in general. As you can see I added additional Scriptures from Jesus, Paul, and Daniel that add to our understanding of what God's will is for us, all of which underscore the message that our Father created this planet for man in general, but for Christ and us specifically. In essence, we rule through advancing Christ's kingdom on earth.
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