Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. Jesus said to them, The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. You are those who have stood by me in my trials. And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Luke 22:24-30

The Church of God consists of its members (Isaiah 65:85) and it’s head is always Christ.  It is founded and supported by first our Chief Cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20), and then by its foundation and pillars (Galatians 2:9).  It comprises the body and is the Lord’s temple.  It is built to house Him, and we are merely it’s building blocks.

The one with the primary glory is obviously the Cornerstone.  Yet, while the remaining portions of the temple are with varying degrees of glory, recognition, and importance structurally, they are all required.  The temple is begun with it’s corner, and not completed without it’s Capstone (Zechariah 4:7).

The desire for the Lord is that we live free.  Free from the bondage of the world and the constraints of the law, so that we might be wholly bound to Himself.  It is never freedom to be free to do whatever one wants, as that is illusion in itself.  Whether we are slave to our passions, to a demon, or to the Lord, we are the servant to the one we obey.

The Kingdom of Heaven is not designed to be ruled, except by one, God Himself.  It is not set up so that we might have rank and position over another, but so that we might be built up in love.  If all else passed away, all material and natural order, and the only thing that was left over was who we were on the inside, how would we relate to each other?  If the summation of God’s commands for the natural created order was to love Him above all else, and to love our neighbor, then the basis of the Kingdom subsists upon this alone.  As it is said, it consists of Righteousness, Peace, and Joy in the Holy Ghost (Romans 14:17), and the only things that remain are Faith, Hope, and Love (1 Corinthians 13:13).  In essence, the only reason anything of the material in this life matters is as it relates to these parts.  It is as a ball is tossed between Father and son, that that ball, matter and form, becomes significant.

This is not to say that we will not have glorified bodies at the resurrection and simply be a spirit.  Nor does it mean that the abuse and misuse of creation will go unpunished at the final judgement (Revelation 11:18).  Rather, it merely emphasizes what is important in both this age, and in the age to come, for it is the heart of God, the Father, to have His children.

The Kingdom does not, therefore, consist in the laws of eating and drinking.  It does not pertain to the rudimentary elements of this Earth.  There are many principles, variously documented throughout the Word of God, but we must never confuse the principles of this life with the truth of the Kingdom.

Just as Elijah stood on the mountain, after living a consecrated, holy life of prayer to God, He was able not only to bind up the spirits upon the false prophets on Mt. Carmel, but also pray and have God answer by fire.  Later, he prayed, and it poured forth rain.  No man can make fire appear on the Earth as Elijah did, but as man prayed, God answered!

And, so, in the Kingdom, our freedom is not to live by our own desires, our own wills, but rather, to grow increasingly in the Holy Spirit.  For whoever sows to the Spirit reaps life, and whoever sows to the flesh reaps corruption (Galatians 6:8).  As we reap the fruit of Eternal life increasingly in our lives, the outflow of it changes the world around us, and transforms us day by day into His likeness.  As we learn to live by the Spirit, and further, to keep in step with the Spirit, in His ever whim, direction, and leading, nothing becomes difficult for us.

The thing that man grimaces at, we find the strength to endure.  The things that overwhelm even the strong and might young men, we find the Spirit of the Lord renewing our strength!  (Isaiah 40:29-31).  The Lord is the strength by which we stand.

And, how do we tap into this life?  Lay down our own?  Increasingly sow into the Spirit.  Increasingly give ourselves to the purposes of His Kingdom, so that His life abounds into us.  For, Most Happy are those who are poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.  Most Happy are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.  Most Happy are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth.

This is the nature of His house.  It is the heart of our God to build His chosen Home.

The greatest heart for the church is that God might be it’s teacher, and it’s leader.  So long as we are upon the Earth, there will be more people to train and equip into the maturity of the faith, and there will always be someone who is in charge of setting order, and assigning deacons.  God does and will choose leaders to lead.

But the life of discipleship to Jesus Christ should be the aim of everyone who calls upon His name.  It should be to exceed and excel in godliness, which is still always great gain!

As we build various structures and governmental order to accommodate things a group run smoothly, the greatest thing we do is to leave room for the people to be brought up into faith and then subject to the Lord Himself.  In the abundance of counsel there is much wisdom, but even as a child must not stay a child forever, but must become and adult, and they can no longer be treated as a child, we must not bring up a culture of believers whose mentality is that of being the perpetual recipient of teaching!  (Hebrews 5:12)

The building must grow, and we must be a people not only of great spirit, but that disciples people into what we are still becoming, namely Christ.  For, it was to a man, Abraham, that faith was taught, that he might teach it to the next generation, and on and on.  Not merely to be a light in His generation, but to be a father, and a father of many nations even, that would have in himself what God had put there to entrust what had been given to him to another generation (2 Timothy 2:2).

For as we grow, and have Christ formed within us, and as we are used to help to birth that within another people (Galatians 4:19), we must be a generation with our hearts turned towards one another, fathers to children, and children to fathers (Malachi 4:5-6).

For as living stones, we are being builded.  We are constructed, and yet we are still growing.  And, unless we leave room for the God that has raised, trained, and led us, raise, train, and lead another generation, they have never truly become disciples of the Lord.  But, rather, the same King that entered and apprehended your life has entered them, and the same counselor that has guided you will guide them.  As we trust and believe these things, with faithfulness to the Holy Spirit within us, as they come to us with what they feel is from the Holy Ghost for themselves, we can discern and weigh, and release them, trusting the Holy Spirit within them.

The building is raised up with each heart and soul, through prayer and faithfulness to the Lord.  And, even as Jesus said to Peter that he was the rock upon which His church would be built, the man with the revelation of Jesus is the primary element beyond Jesus Himself.  It is the assembly of believers, called out from among the Earth, to live as the people of Faith, the house of the Lord, His heavenly Jerusalem.

As He draws men and women together, they joined together in useful service and labor for the Lord, with one heart, one spirit, and one purpose.  And, as we are made perfect in love, fully living in the light, we have fellowship one with one another.