THE MYSTERIES OF THE KINGDOM – TO ‘YOU’ IT HAS BEEN GIVEN – By Bob Blase
“To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God…” Lk. 8:10.
The Lord is very direct with us here, ‘to know the mysteries’ has been assigned to we who believe on Him and follow Him. But what do we do about it? How do we turn that into action?
(RE)SET OUR MINDS
We all know this verse: “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” Col. 3:2.
What are those ‘things above’ we are to set our minds to?
The answer may depend on who you ask. The carnally-minded believer will answer with the natural reasoning, and say things like ‘read your Bible, go to church, be nice to people, talk about the Bible, share the gospel etc.
All of that is good, right? Yes, it is good. But is it yielding a harvest of kingdom fruit? If the answer is ‘no’, we are compelled to ask, “Why not?” Or, does it just leave the individual with a sense of self-achievement for having ‘behaved rightly’.
THE NATURE OF KINGDOM FRUIT
Kingdom fruit is born of the Spirit, carries true humility, and comes with the undeniable trait of ‘multiplication’. In other words, kingdom fruit makes it plain that only God could have done this thing, and not man by himself.
There is a vast difference between mere personal accomplishments and a harvest of kingdom fruit. Personal accomplishment often gives a direct pay-off to ourselves only; an ego-boost, if you will.
Kingdom fruitfulness is where the Father receives glory for the fruit in our lives and its manifest influence.
Others will observe the fruit and bear witness to your testimony, for the very ‘voice’ of the fruit itself gives praise, honor, and glory to the Father, and not to man. It points to Him and His abilities; His goodness, faithfulness, and love. But our own efforts just boost us in own eyes.
Even if we try to speak the words that say it is for God, they are but empty, hollow words. They fall to the ground, for they carry no life of the Spirit in them.
It may be good stuff that we have done, in the sense that it does no harm, but it is not the fruit that comes from ‘abiding in the vine’.
THE THINGS THAT ARE ABOVE
What are the things that are above? They are the mysteries of the kingdom. The Lord laid it out for us, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled.”
Jesus pointed the way. He lived the way. And He became the Way. He provided the access for us. He calls us His followers because we ‘follow’ Him. He calls us His sheep because He leads us. He calls us His friends because everything He received from the Father, Jesus has turned around and shared it with us.
To you and I it has been given to explore, learn of, and experientially come to know the mysteries of the kingdom.
AFFECTIONS OF THE HEART
The affections of our hearts cause us to seek after those things we are craving. It is how we are built. Again, this can produce a bad thing, or it can yield a very good thing.
The KJV uses ‘affection’ in Col. 3:2, “set your affections”. This comes close to the true meaning, pointing to the deeply-held, heart-felt ‘desires. ‘That’ is what God is after: a transformation deep within us where we sincerely crave the things above.
Those cravings then redirect our life-priorities and our outward behavior towards actually seeking those things.
Man tries to direct the outward behavior, and then takes personal credit for his accomplishment. But the mature believer has, through the transforming power of the Spirit of Christ and in obedience to the Word of God, actually experienced an internal reset of the affections towards the things that are above.
MATURING OUR DISCERNMENT
Why am I talking this way?
Aren’t you being ‘negative’, brother?
No. The Lord wants our efforts to pay-off, to yield kingdom fruitfulness. Have you received the revelation that doing your own cool thing is really just a spinning of your wheels?
We want to lay down our burdens, cease from our own works, enter into the ‘rest’ He has provided for us, and in unity with a community of believers, by faith, be about our Father’s business, be in our Father’s house.
How big is our Father’s house?
It has many dwelling places, and all of them are ‘full’ of the mysteries of the kingdom. The things of earth are not even a drop in the ocean, when compared with the incomprehensible vastness of the mysteries of the kingdom.
