Dakota Beacon

One of the several reasons for writing The Passing Scene includes exercising my brain as I age. Medical literature encourages older folks to exercise their brain to help to stave off mental decline such as dementia. Solving puzzles, learning a language, reading, and writing all fit the category of mental exercise.

That said, many of you know I am a follower of Jesus Christ. I accepted Christ as a college freshman in 1962. Blessed with a curious and questioning mind, I soon asked, “What now? Is that all there is?” In retrospect I thought I had joined the “White Knuckle Club” – be good, go to church, hang on until I die, then go to heaven, and that is all there is. Boy, did I have a lot to learn!

Some readers may not care about the Bible and Jesus Christ. Others may even hold hostility toward Christianity. So be it. Rest assured, this piece does not intend to proselytize but rather to illustrate exercise for an aging brain.

I continue a scripture search on three themes -- the kingdom of God, Christ in you, and the temple or tabernacle – and saw a unifying thread or pattern.

Beginning with the theme of the kingdom of God, I used the King James Version of the Bible for verse citations. First, “And when He [Jesus] was demanded of by the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21).

Paul defines the kingdom of God. “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Romans 14:17).

The “kingdom of heaven” or “kingdom of God” is a central theme in Jesus’ teaching. Matthew addresses himself to the Jews when he speaks of the “kingdom of heaven” due to the tendency in Judaism to avoid the direct use of the name of God. Mark and Luke’s Gospel, on the other hand, speak of the “kingdom of God” which is more intelligible to gentiles. Otherwise, there is no distinction in sense between the two expressions. The kingdom of heaven or God has both an internal and external form. As internal it already exists in the present and rules in the hearts of Christians. As external it is either in the present or it is to be perfected in the future coming of the Son of Man. However, these aspects are not always distinguishable because they often embrace both the internal and external kingdom. The expression refers to both commencement in this world and its completion in the world to come. A good example of this double entendre is found in John 3:3 and 5.

In his teachings, Jesus used parables over thirty times and often to communicate the kingdom of God. In Matthew 13 Jesus explains why He speaks in parables after using a parable to explain the kingdom of God. Parables are scattered throughout the New Testament but found mainly in portions of Matthew chapters 13, 19, 20, 21, 22, and 25 and likewise in Luke chapters 15, 16, 17.

Next, I explored the theme of Christ in you. These and other verses are explicit and clear. “At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you” (John 14:20). Another verse, “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,…might be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:17-19). And still another, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). Finally, “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.” (Colossians 1:26-27).

Finally, I considered the temple or tabernacle where God communes with His people. “…For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (II Corinthians 6:16). Then there is this, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (I Corinthians 3:16).

There you have it -- my brain-saving exercise rendering my personal understanding of God’s desire for fellowship with His creation and how He brought this to pass.

I believe God also has “needs.” As I understand it, the unifying thread or pattern running through these three themes is a desire on the part of God for fellowship with man even as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit fellowshipped among themselves before the beginning of time. As the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit defer to one another in fellowship not seeking each their own exaltation, so it is that the Father wants to bring us into the same fellowship for His pleasure. Unfortunately for us, the possibility for fellowship was ruptured in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve chose to walk in disobedience and rebellion. However, the Father never relented in his desire for fellowship with us starting now and through eternity.

I have assembled many pages of scripture verses supporting each of the three themes. However, discerning the pattern or thread of fellowship was an exciting revelation to me.

Enough! So much for my exercise in staving off mental decline. So far, so good.

Dennis M. Patrick can be contacted at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).