God’s Voice Must Never Be Confused
With the Voice of an Ecclesiastical Structure

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What It Means To Call Jesus “Christ”

Only the person who, like Peter, has been taught by the great Father above Who Christ is to him, and who declares with Peter, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God” is a member of Christ’s ekklesia, His “called out ones.” 

To call Jesus the “Christ” means that you accept all that Christ came to be for you-Savior, King, Ruler, Lord, Messiah, Friend. To call Jesus the ‘Christ” means that you are surrendered to Him absolutely. To call Jesus the “Christ” means that every thought has been brought into captivity to obedience to Him. It means that all that he came to be for you, He is to you-the Light of life, the Water of life, the Bread of life, the Way, the Truth, the Life.

To call Jesus “the Christ” means that Jesus is your all-consuming fire, the all-consuming passion of your life. Not the Christ the Structure presents, not the Christ that humanity presents, but only the Christ revealed to you by the Father. Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father that is in heaven.

Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God. To call Jesus the Son of the Living God means much.  It means that you accept the equality of the Son with the Father. John 5: 17,18.

The issue of the nature of the Church was central to the terms of the Waldenses. Was one to follow the faith of the apostles, or was one to “join the structure church” which meant joining the papacy. It was war, as the servant of the Lord has written. (GC 45, 46).

Jesus Bypasses the Structure, Calling Men Into His Kingdom

How Jesus Dealt With an Entrenched Structure

Jesus faced a staggering problem with a Structure, once established by Himself, under Moses and Aaron, a Structure with a 1,500-year history, but a Structure that was under the control of Satan, a Structure which he knew, from the time he turned thirteen years old, would one day murder Him.

So, what was the solution? How did Jesus deal with an entrenched Structure determined to destroy Him and His work to save men from sin, a Structure that would one-day murder Him, if indeed He could even make it to the cross?   

The gospels, every one of them, provide the answer. Jesus simply bypassed the Structure and preached the kingdom of God. 

Building the True Ekklesia Upon the Kingdom

The kingdom of God was most certainly not the Structure.  The kingdom of God is a most dynamic power-the kingdom within man, in the hearts of men-the kingdom that submits to the King Christ Jesus and His dynamic rule in the heart.

This is our solution also, for the kingdom of grace will soon become the kingdom of glory. Daniel records for us the interpretation of the dream God gave to Nebuchadnezzar: “In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to another people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.

“Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dram is certain, the interpretation thereof sure.” Daniel 2: 44, 45. 

Nyyike Is The Kingdom of Heaven: Its Here!

“From then Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for nyyikeis the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 4:17.  Nyyike (annggiken) is a most interesting term, translated “at hand” in the KJV. It is a perfect, meaning “a present state which has resulted from a past action. The present state is a continuing state; the past action is a completed action. Therefore the perfect combines linear and punctiliar action.”  James A. Brooks, Carlton L. Winbery, Syntax of New Testament Greek. Washington, D.C.: University Press of America, 1979, p. 94. The verb means “to approach,” to come near.” Thus, the perfect means that the kingdom of heaven has in the past drawn near, and now stands in a continuous state of having drawn near. 

This message startled the people-the announcement that the kingdom of heaven is right here now.

Following the Person of Christ Fundamental to Being Part of the Kingdom

The next verses describe Jesus walking by the Sea of Galilee, and seeing Peter and Andrew casting a net into the sea, He called out, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.

“And they straightway left their nets, and followed Him.” Matthew 4:18-20. 

Then Jesus calls James, John, and they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him. It was not following a concept, or a though, or an idea. It was following a Person, the Son of God.

Calling Men to Work Directly With Him Personally

What was Jesus doing? He was bypassing the Structure. He was preaching the kingdom of heaven, and calling men to work with Him, men who were open to His leading, men who would follow Him.

“And Jesus went all about Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.  

“And his fame went throughout all Syria, and they brought unto Him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy, and He healed them.” Matthew 4:23, 24.

The Issue At Its Core: The Kingdom of God vs. The Kingdom of Satan

Jesus is dealing with the issue at its core-the kingdom of God vs. the kingdom of Satan. Regrettably, the Structure had lined itself up with the kingdom of Satan. Indeed, its leaders were more under demonic control than the demoniacs, for at least the demoniacs cried out in their hearts for deliverance. However, did Jesus let the fact that the Structure had lined up with Satan’s kingdom deter Him? Not in the slightest. He went to work preaching the kingdom of heaven, healing the devil-possessed, lunatics, and those with palsy, “And there followed Him great multitudes of the people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond Jordan. 

War of Maneuver Executed by the Lord of Battles

Jesus had started up a real people movement, bypassing the entrenched Structure, preaching the kingdom, exhibiting the power of the kingdom by healing the people, and His kingdom was made up of people who followed Him. It was the art of warfare of maneuver at its finest by the Lord of Battles. He worked with those who were willing. It was a different kind of war-a war of wresting souls from satanic control, a war won by infinite love and persuasion addressed to the individual soul.

Proclaiming Himself King of the Kingdom of Heaven

In the very next chapter we see Jesus seated on the mountain describing to the masses of His followers the conditions for entrance into His kingdom- “Blessed are the beggars in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven…” Matthew 5:3.

What was Jesus doing? He is essentially proclaiming Himself the King of the Kingdom of heaven, and describing in the Beatitudes the characteristics of those members of His kingdom!

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