Musings with PWC

  Part # 1   Whom should I obey? An understanding of kingdom from scripture: 1.  Theocracy: (Theocracy. GOD-POWER or GOD-RULE Sometimes also called theonomous (GOD-LAW) The initial Kingdom:  God is king—Adam and Eve are the governors, the prime-ministers. Genesis 1:27-28 (NKJV) 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Idea behind the command: (i)    Fill the earth with people (ii)   Subdue the Earth  (iii)  Have dominion over the earth It is seen as an expansion of the garden of Eden.  Subdue the earth. The program?  Make the entire world a garden of Eden.  This kingdom fails because the governors rebelled and tried to overthrow the King.  Quite unsuccessfully I might add. 

  You don’t have to dig very deep to see the savage in anyone.   Many years ago when I was having a lot of church conflict, I was in conversation with my District Superintendent.  During that conversation he told me the following: You don’t have to dig very deep to see the savage in anyone.  Now I’m not sure who, if anyone he was quoting, but it has stuck with me now for over 30 years. You know what?  He was right.  But before me or you start doing a quick inventory of all the savages around us let’s do some self-examination.  First a little teaching:  There are three levels of your interaction with the written and living word of God. Lowest level:  Information—knowing ABOUT the written word (Bible) and the living word (Jesus) Middle level:  Formation—being and acting like the written word (Bible) and the living word (Jesus) Highest level:  Equipping—doing like the written word (Bible) and the living word (Jesus) The ‘savage’ in us keeps us at the lowest level. Self exami