The Kingdom of God (Part 2: For Thine is the Kingdom)

Below is but a small measure of revelation that my father had received from the Lord. I hope this will be a blessing to you. All that is written below are the words of my father.

The Kingdom of God (Part 2: For Thine is the Kingdom)

In loving memory of my father
Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett
July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023

In our previous message we introduced the gospel or good news of the kingdom of God. Now we want to emphasize that the kingdom of God is His kingdom, not yours or mine. Let us reflect on what men call "The Lord's Prayer," which more aptly should be called the disciples' prayer.

In the Disciples' Prayer, the words I, me, my, and mine never occur once! Jesus came so that we could take those words out of our life and put in their place the words He, His, Thine, Lord, etc. Then we read,

"For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen." 

The reality of "Thine" must be made flesh in our hearts. Nothing is "mine." All is "Thine." This speaks of the centrality, supremacy, and preeminence of the Lord Jesus Christ. Until this truth is made real within us, we can proceed no further in our Christian walk. 

1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

2 Timothy 3:1-5

The word translated as "perilous" means "hard, difficult, grievous, rugged, furious, or ferocious." The only other time this Greek word is used is in Matthew 8:28, where it is translated as "exceeding fierce," to describe two who were possessed with devils.

Those Verses clearly describe those in the world who do not know the Lord. Unfortunately those verses also speak of Christians who have succumbed to their carnal lusts. They are lovers of their own selves; they cater to the popular "me-centered" theology. They may love God but they love pleasures more than God. Now no professing Christian would say they love pleasures more than they love God. But how much time do we devote to each? They have a form of godliness in that they go to "church" every week and outwardly appear to be good Christian folk; but they deny or do not allow the power of the Holy Spirit to crucify their flesh.

The time is later than we think! Yet a little while and the door (to the kingdom of God) will be shut. The five foolish virgins in Matthew 25 (who also represent born-again believers) will not be allowed to enter (the kingdom of God). Our God, Who is love, and Who is full of grace and mercy, is also our God of judgment.

Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but My people know not the judgment of the LORD. Jeremiah 8:7

The words "knoweth" and "know" are figures of speech which convey the sense of acting on the knowledge. Charismatic and Spirit-filled believers today have plenty of knowledge, but do we act on that knowledge? God's people did not act on that knowledge in the time of Lot; His people did not act on that knowledge in the time of Moses; His people did not act on that knowledge in the time of Isaiah; His people did not act on that knowledge in the time of Jeremiah; His chosen people did not act on that knowledge when Jesus walked the face of the earth; His people did not act on that knowledge in the church at Corinth; His people did not act on that knowledge in what is called the Dark Ages; and His people do not act on that knowledge today! Human nature has never changed and never will. But even the stork, the turtle, and the crane act on their knowledge.

The centrality, supremacy, and preeminence of the Lord Jesus Christ must be of highest emphasis for us as believers. This topic could easily occupy volumes of books. We also believe that it will take an eternity for the Holy Spirit to reveal to us everything about the Lord. He is to be supreme and of utmost centrality in heaven and earth and what is under the earth ... in the Whole universe, whatever that may contain. The whole Bible speaks of the Kingdom of God. And all of the Bible points to the Lord Jesus Christ. We conclude that the risen Christ is the Kingdom of God. If we abide in the Vine we abide in the kingdom of God.

His centrality, supremacy, and preeminence is the Master Key to all of Scripture. One of the many, truly amazing verses in the Bible is in Luke 24, when Jesus, after His resurrection, spoke with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus.

In Luke 24:27, 30-32, 

"And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself. And it came to pass, as He sat at meat with them, He took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew Him; and He vanished out of their sight. And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while He talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the scriptures?" 

All the things concerning Himself! How many of us understand in all the scriptures the things concerning the Lord Jesus? And does our heart burn within us?

Therefore, whenever we read the written Word of God, we should always ask the question, "What do these verses have to do with Christ?" That is the starting point in understanding the Word of God. The Bible is the most accurate history Book ever written; it is also prophetic over all of time; but above all of that, it speaks of Christ. And the amazing grace of God is that Christ, in all of His greatness, is given to us (Isaiah 9:6-7)!

One major passage of Scripture which points to the centrality, supremacy, and preeminence of the Lord Jesus Christ is Colossians, Chapter 1. Four other such passages are John 1, Ephesians 1, Philippians 2, and Hebrews 1. Those 5 chapters could be called "Christology" chapters in that they, perhaps more than others, emphasize the Person of the Lord. When we read those 5 Chapters, we should emphasize all of the many references to Him, His, and He, all of which refer to the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. John 1:1-18, Ephesians 1:3-23, Philippians 2:1-13, Colossians 1:9-29, and Hebrews 1:1-14 contain 87 Verses, in which the words "He, His, Him, and Himself' occur 100 times. That does not count the 50 or more words "Thou, Thy, Christ, Jesus, Lord, Who, Whom, God," etc., which also refer to the Lord. We also note that in the Verses from Colossians, the words "all" and "every" occur some 16 times. Those verses are well worth reading carefully over and over again. They all refer to God, not us, and HIS purposes.

We are so preoccupied with OUR interests, OUR desires, and OUR plans, that we have little time to think about HIS interests, HIS desires, and HIS plans. From Colossians 1:9,

9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;

How can we walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing unless we are filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding? Again, why would Paul pray that prayer for the saints at Colosse (and for us) if they were already filled with that knowledge? 

11 Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;

12 Giving thanks unto the Father, Which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son:

14 In Whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

Verses 12-14. For us, for you and me, that which was in the mind and heart of God from before the foundation of the world has its beginning in the receiving of Christ by faith into the heart of the individual believer. But that is not the end ... that is only the beginning!

What is the point in my salvation? Not my satisfaction, not my gratification, not for my benefit, not for my pleasure, not for my comfort, not my salvation as the end in itself, but the revelation of Jesus Christ, the realization of His centrality, His supremacy, and His preeminence according to the desire of the Father.

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created. Revelation 4:11 

15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

16 For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him:

17 And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.

18 And He is the head of the body, the church: Who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence.

19 For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell;

Verse 18, "that in all things He might have the preeminence." In ALL things! All means ALL! Everything for us as believers depends upon that inward revelation of Jesus Christ in our hearts.

Verse 19, "for it pleased the Father that in Him (in Christ) should all fullness dwell." Are we "saved" to please ourselves or to please the Father?

20 And, having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled

22 In the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight:

23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister; Colossians 1:9-23

Note the "If" in Verse 23. Note also that Verse 23 says that the gospel was preached to every creature which is under heaven. When was the gospel preached to every creature under heaven? On the day of Pentecost, for all the known nations were present to hear Peter's message on Pentecost, just as Levi was in the loins of Abraham (Hebrews 7).

27 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:

That is what has always been in the heart of God from before the foundation of the world. The Word must be made flesh within us ... Christ in you, the hope of glory. The reason that Jesus died on the cross of Calvary was not simply that we might be "saved" and go to heaven one day. It is the purpose of the Lord Jesus Christ to present a holy, fully mature, without spot or wrinkle, glorious body of Christ to the Father, that God may be all in all (1 Corinthians 15).

28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:

Paul said he warned every man. When was the last time that anyone warned you? And if so, what was the message of the warning? Note also that warning comes before teaching. Why? because it is all too easy to slip back into the desires of the flesh and the works of the flesh.

We see similar verses in Ephesians 1:15-19, but we will share from Ephesians 1 in a later message. Paul also said, 

15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by His grace,

16 To reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: Galatians 1:15-16

When it pleased God! Everything must be for His pleasure, for His rest and enjoyment, not ours.

When Paul said that God "separated him from his mother's womb," he was not speaking about natural childbirth. His mother's womb was the Jews' religion (Galatians 1: 13-14). In like manner, we must be separated from our natural, man-made religion; but separated unto the gospel of God (Romans 1:1). Our mother's womb is anything that is a product of our natural mind, typically reinforced by man-made traditions.

Isaiah 33:20-21 Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken. But there the glorious LORD will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams; wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby.

In Matthew 16, Jesus asked His disciples, "Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?" Peter in Verse 16 answered, 

"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

"This rock" is the inward revelation of Who Christ is. Upon "this rock" the Lord is building His church, not my church, not your church, and not your pastor's church. This inward revelation of the Christ is only the beginning, not the end.

It is no coincidence that the last Book in the Bible is called "Revelation." For the inward revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is given to us by God the Father, is our beginning. I can give no man this inward revelation of Christ; you can give no man this inward revelation of Christ; your pastor can give no man this inward revelation of Christ. Only the Father can give us the inward revelation of Christ, and upon that inward revelation of Christ, the Lord is building His church. He is bringing many sons to glory. What a marvelous, amazing work is in progress!

Unless our hearts have been stirred by the Holy Spirit to desire to please the Lord in all things, to glorify the Father, then we can never complete our mission here on earth. The condition of our hearts is critical! There is no room in the heart of the true believer for "what do I get?" or how does this help me? Like the early believers as recorded in Acts, we must be gladly willing to lay down our lives for His sake, for He is King of kings and Lord of lords.

God is not a servant, to do our bidding. Far too much of our prayers are filled up with lists of what I want and instructions to God. Our loving Father gives us what we need, not what we want.

Jesus also is not a sibling; He is not "our big brother." This sort of understanding or expression, as it approaches its full end, will poison any believer's relationship with the Lord. Equality with God is not a thing to be grasped at. Jesus is Lord. For all His various titles and roles, we cannot treat Him at the same time as both brother and Lord. One or the other must be more real.

Suppose you go to court and you happen to know the judge personally; let's say his name is Tom. You would never dare to call him Tom in court; you must call him "your honor." How would you address the president of the U.S.? Would you call him Donald or Mr. President?How about the queen of England?

If anyone ever had any reason to call Jesus "brother" it would have been James and Jude. They were natural brothers to the Lord Jesus as well as spiritual heirs of the Father. Yet in Scripture they dared only to refer to themselves as servants to their Lord Jesus Christ. They never referred to Jesus as brother, no, not once. If anyone treats Jesus as a brother, what right or understanding do we have that those apostles and teachers did not have?

Even Joseph's brethren understood the place of his lordship in Egypt. Joseph was their brother, yes ... but he was their lord more and to be treated as such. Because Joseph was lord, he could call for and treat his brethren as brethren, for that they were. But at the same time, because Joseph was lord, his brothers had to consider him wholly as lord... regardless of their natural relationship to him. His Lordship cannot be compromised nor diluted. The Lord is Lord and no other facet of His nature will ever compete with or divert from this pillar of truth.

Doctrines abound which exalt the working of our faith as high as the faith of the Son of God. Seeking equality with Him exalts our ability and actions rather than His sovereignty and sufficiency. The end result of these false doctrines is all the same. The all-abounding Lordship of Jesus will never be seen by anyone who is so concerned with human beings and natural relationships. Perhaps every believer has heard the phrase, "He is so heavenly minded that he is no earthly good." In reality, unless we are heavenly minded then we will be no earthly good.

From our observation and experience over the past 50 years, the true gospel seems to have gradually been watered down to make it more appealing to the natural man. Augustine once said, "If you believe what you like in the Gospel, and reject what you don't like, it is not the Gospel you believe, but yourself."

Although the devil and king self both try to lay claim to being the great I AM, the ONLY true "I AM" is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the Alpha and the Omega. He is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. He is the GREAT I AM.


13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is His name? what shall I say unto them?

14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. Exodus 3:13-14

Did anyone ask, "I AM ... who or what?" Just fill in the blank with a multitude of words that attempt to describe the Lord. He is King of kings and Lord of lords; He is the Prince of Peace; He is our Sure Foundation; He is the Word of God; He is our Savior; He is love; He is a consuming fire; He is our Apostle and High Priest; He is that Great Prophet; He is the Author and Finisher of our faith; He is our Good Shepherd; He is the Captain of our Salvation; He is our Healer; He is our Deliverer; He is the Lamb that taketh away the sin of the world; He is the Bright and Morning Star; He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life; He is the Light of the world; He is the Bright and Morning Star. There are at least 100 more names that the Bible ascribes to Him. There is none like Him. Who shall not fear Him Who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell? When David was assembling everything in preparation for building the temple, 

10 Wherefore David blessed the LORD before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be Thou, LORD God of Israel our Father, for ever and ever.

11 Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine; Thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and Thou art exalted as head above all.

12 Both riches and honour come of Thee, and Thou reignest over all; and in Thine hand is power and might; and in Thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.

13 Now therefore, our God, we thank Thee, and praise Thy glorious name.

14 But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of Thee, and of Thine own have we given Thee.

15 For we are strangers before Thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.

16 O LORD our God, all this store that we have prepared to build Thee an house for Thine holy name cometh of Thine hand, and is all Thine own.  

1 Chronicles 29:10-16

No wonder that David was a man after God's own heart! Now every believer would say, "Of course! Every Christian knows that!" Actually, the devils also know that and they tremble! James 2:19

Therefore it is not a matter of knowing what the Bible says about the Lord; rather, it is about knowing Him! Paul, after 30 years of ministry said, "that I might know Him." In 1968, when I was not yet one year in Christ, I read a book written by De Vern Fromke titled, "The Ultimate Intention." The one thing I remember in that book was the author went through a series of diagrams. The first diagram showed natural man at the center of a circle, with the Lord on the outside of the circle. The next diagram showed the Lord inside the circle, sharing the center with man. The last diagram depicted Christ as the center of the circle with man in His midst. I assume almost every believer would say, "Of course! Every believer knows that!" But when I saw those three diagrams, the Holy Spirit did a new work in my heart. That word was made flesh within me. In eternity past the Father ordained that all things would be centered in His Son. The Lord Jesus Christ is the center of all things. Every believer agrees doctrinally but what about the reality ... the working out of that truth? Paul told the saints at Philippi (and us) to "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12b).

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1

Note that the Bible does NOT say "the earth and the heavens." The heavens come first. The heavens govern the earth and the earthly. The earth takes its significance and importance from being related to something greater than itself ... to heaven. But heaven, or the heavens, is not a physical location (Luke 17:20-21). It is the place where God rules ... the kingdom of heaven.

The Divine intention in creation was that a harmony should exist between heaven and earth ... between God and all of His creation, where "harmony" means that everything and everyone is in tune with the Conductor. Before a symphony orchestra starts to play, each member of the ensemble gets in tune with the oboe. The note that the oboist plays is "A" because every stringed instrument has an "A" string. It is up to each individual member of the orchestra to tune his instrument to the same pitch as the oboe. Once all members are in tune to the "A" pitch of the oboe, the Conductor is then in charge. For us, the oboe is the Holy Spirit and our Conductor is the Lord Himself.

This world is not our home; it is not our resting place. The heavenly realm is unknown to us by nature. We can read about that heavenly realm in the Bible and we can hear about it through anointed preachers and teachers (if we are so blessed), but we can never know that heavenly realm until we experience it. There is nothing second-hand about the spiritual life in Christ. In the Book of Exodus, each man was to gather the manna daily (except for the Sabbath day) for himself and for his family. That is why Jesus told Andrew and Peter, "Come and see." 

Galileo's discovery that the sun, not the earth, was the center of the universe caused the greatest scientific revolution that had ever been known. Throughout the world today there is the echo and re-echo of revolution, which is evidence of the crisis in which we live. We need a similar, spiritual revolution in the church world that the Son, and not man, is the center of all things. Very few believers would dispute that fact but the outward evidence says otherwise.

In our next three messages we will look at the conditions that each of us must meet in order to walk in the kingdom of God, here on earth.

May the centrality, supremacy, and preeminence of His Lordship be made so real and fixed within our hearts that it may withstand all of the attack and compromise which is directed against us in these last days ... perilous times indeed. And may the Lord continue to open our eyes to see Who He is and open our ears to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to us in these perilous times in which we live. And may the Lord be glorified in our every word and deed. Amen.