Finding Jesus in the Bible…So We Can Follow Him in Life
Bible Reading Plans
- Plan One: New Testament Only
- Plan Two: New Testament + Psalms
- Plan Three: New Testament + History
- Plan Four: The Entire Bible – Year 1 of 3, Year 2 of 3, Year 3 of 3
Don’t know which plan? Go to A Christ-Centered Bible Reading Plan: Quick Start.
Extras
Verse of the Day, Audio Capsule, and Video Minute
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(Today’s Book Installment)
Living in the Kingdom of God
Chapter 3 – God’s Patient Workings
God was not surprised when only a small minority of people recognized the coming of His kingdom. He had prophesied as much when He said things like this:
Matthew 7:13 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.
Matthew 7:14 For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
And this:
Luke 13:23 And someone said to Him, “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?” And He said to them,
Luke 13:24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.”
And this:
Luke 18:8 “…when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
Such a minority would be ignored by the institutional church…and forgotten by history. Who was there and interested enough to record their story?
But God had a plan. And just like a seed disappears into the ground well before it come out of the ground, so the kingdom of God was at work well before it was acknowledged as present.
God’s plan was to use the institutional church for the purpose of gathering, retaining, and proclaiming the writings of the apostles. By the 4th century, a full Bible – Old Testament and New Testament – could be published. It took that long for circumstances to allow it.
For one thing, all the Old Testament writings were on scrolls in the 1st century and the apostles’ writings were scattered across three continents. There was no such thing as a book in the 1st century – certainly not one large enough to contain all the Scriptures.
Over the centuries, the Bible has been divided into chapters, then verses…with punctuation being added along the way.
With the invention of the printing press in the 15th century, the way was paved for the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther, William Tyndale, and others translated the Bible into languages spoken by common folks who couldn’t read Greek or Latin.
In the 21st century, the Bible is everywhere and it’s inexpensive. Any device anywhere on earth connected to the internet can download it for free.
This is the time God has patiently worked toward. For the kingdom of God is not suited to be furthered by an institution. The Old Testament came from ancient Israel. The New Testament came from the one true church. But the kingdom of God does not need the mediation that Israel first, and then the one true church, provided. A complete and ubiquitous Bible, combined with a highly literate human race, is what allows the kingdom of God to come into the light in a way it never has before.
The world is now fully ripe for people to read the Bible for themselves and see that the kingdom of God that the institutional church keeps postponing is actually here for the taking. And no institutional intermediary is needed to access it.
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