What is the Kingdom of God?

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Eternally Grateful

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Can we apply that to ourselves, who follow Christ?
No,

Because I am not john the baptist. I was not there to prepare the way. I was not the for runner,

I came to God broken, I did not decrease.. If you do not come to God broken (poor in spirit) then his increase will not do you any good..
 

Ritajanice

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That's literally what a coyote is/does..... :rolleyes:

Colloquially, a coyote is a person who smuggles ILLEGAL immigrants across the Mexico–United States border. The word "coyote" is a loanword from Mexican Spanish that usually refers to a species of North American wild dog (Canis latrans).

Migrants pay coyotes a fee to guide them across the border. Fees are normally collected once the migrant arrives at a predetermined destination, usually a border city in California, Texas, or Arizona. Since the 1990s, the proportion of migrants who hire coyotes has increased drastically as a result of intensified surveillance along the border.
Are you trolling again?..hehehe

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Lizbeth

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Seeking by faith is not illegal. What is illegal is to claim to be in the kingdom when you are not. God decides who enters in. Naming and claiming are presumptuous sins.
But believing God by faith is not presumptuous or a sin, wow. Not everyone is naming and claiming but have believed and are believing by faith, genuinely. Not sure you understand that there is a difference between the two. The work of God is this: to believe on the one He has sent....that one who is our righteousness. That is a good foundation never to be dug out or discarded or dismissed or repented of.....or taken for granted either.
 
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Episkopos

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But believing God by faith is not presumptuous or a sin, wow.

Believing God or...naming and claiming positive sounding verses in a self-interested way?

Do you believe Jesus when He says...you are poor, naked, wretched, and blind? Or do you turn away from Him?

Why would you assume and presume ANYTHING from the bible without God's say so? Don't you realize that unless there is that personal connection there are many who will be rejected. And I'm talking about those who claim great things for themselves.
Not everyone is naming and claiming but have believed and are believing by faith, genuinely.

Who is determining what is genuine? Genuine for you is not necessarily genuine in Spirit and truth. A person can think they can sing great in the shower...but listening back to a recording often dispels the myth. It's too bad we don't have a quick auto-feedback on our spiritual condition.
Not sure you understand that there is a difference between the two. The work of God is this: to believe on the one He has sent....that one who is our righteousness. That is a good foundation never to be dug out or discarded or dismissed or repented of.....or taken for granted either.
As I have said...that is NOT the foundation to build on. The ONLY foundation is Christ Himself. Read what it says. And to build on HIM you need to go to where He is. Imagine somebody believing they have a foundation somewhere else but trying to build where they are. Obviously not competent builders.
 

amadeus

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Can we apply that to ourselves, who follow Christ?
Yes... It is the me of me, that carnal old man who must decrease, while it is the new man of me who must increase. This needs to continues until when? Until there is no more temptation to sin remaining within. Did not Jesus reach that place? Was he not speaking of it here?
Joh 17:11And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
 

Eternally Grateful

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Yes... It is the me of me, that carnal old man who must decrease, while it is the new man of me who must increase. This needs to continues until when? Until there is no more temptation to sin remaining within. Did not Jesus reach that place? Was he not speaking of it here?
Joh 17:11And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
This is confusing.

How can your old man decrease, when you professed your old man was your guilt.. And this is why you came to Christin the first place.

Can your old man get any lower than this?
 

amadeus

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This is confusing.

How can your old man decrease, when you professed your old man was your guilt.. And this is why you came to Christin the first place.

Can your old man get any lower than this?
Is it not the old man who is tempted? If things still tempt us:
"the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life," [from I John 2:16]
is not the old man still trying to regain the dominion he had in us before we met Jesus?
 

Eternally Grateful

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Is it not the old man who is tempted? If things still tempt us:
"the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life," [from I John 2:16]
is not the old man still trying to regain the dominion he had in us before we met Jesus?
But how can it decrease?

John the baptist had to decrease. So Jesus could increase.

What does your old man have to do with John the baptist?
 

Ritajanice

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is not the old man still trying to regain the dominion he had in us before we met Jesus?
Ah!!!....but the old mans mind set less and less, provided we are Born of the Spirit?

Romans 6:6-23

King James Version

6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
 
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WalterandDebbie

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It is a sign of the times that the Kingdom of God is more likely to be associated with an afterlife experience rather than a spiritual realm that we can enter into in a walk of faith at the present time. Join me on this episode as we explore "What is the Kingdom of God?".

Hello Episkopos, And how are you all? Good message, a factor is denying oneself.

Love, Walter And Debbie
 

amadeus

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But how can it decrease?
As the obstacles between us and God are overcome [if they are overcome] is not the old man decreased and hopefully finally killed? When he is truly finally and completely dead, then with or like Jesus, we are no longer tempted to sin and our Head is always Jesus.
John the baptist had to decrease. So Jesus could increase.
The Baptist was great according to Jesus, but also needed to increase. He needed to lose his own head [which he did in a literal way, but it was still a shadow] and take on Jesus as his Head.

Mt 11:11Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
Eph 5:23For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
What does your old man have to do with John the baptist?
Are shadows to be found not only in what we name as the Old Testament?
 
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Ritajanice

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As the obstacles between us and God are overcome [if they are overcome] is not the old man decreased and hopefully finally killed? When he is truly finally and completely dead, then with or like Jesus, we are no longer tempted to sin and our Head is always Jesus.
Our old man has been crucified with Christ ? as his word says?

So, what’s left to die?
 

amadeus

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Ah!!!....but the old mans mind set less and less, provided we are Born of the Spirit?

Romans 6:6-23​

King James Version​

6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
And Paul admonishes us thusly:

1th 5:19Quench not the Spirit.
The Holy Spirit in us would work to kill those things remaining including the temptations, which when followed lead us into sin. If we are regularly quenching that Spirit within us, we will find ourselves moving toward the ways of the old man [our old carnal self] rather than toward the new man and his Way [the Way of which Jesus provided for us the perfect example].

To surrender to the Holy Spirit or to quench the Holy Spirit is the free will that remains: God's Way or Not!
 

amadeus

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Our old man has been crucified with Christ ? as his word says?

So, what’s left to die?
Are we still tempted by anything at all in the world?

1jo 2:16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
Are we still in the world of temptation?
 
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Ritajanice

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And Paul admonishes us thusly:

1th 5:19Quench not the Spirit.
The Holy Spirit in us would work to kill those things remaining including the temptations, which when followed lead us into sin. If we are regularly quenching that Spirit within us, we will find ourselves moving toward the ways of the old man [our old carnal self] rather than toward the new man and his Way [the Way of which Jesus provided for us the perfect example].

To surrender to the Holy Spirit or to quench the Holy Spirit is the free will that remains: God's Way or Not!
I’ve already posted Gods word that our old man was crucified with Christ?

Why aren’t you answering my question?

What’s left to die in us, when Gods word says our old man is crucified?
 

Ritajanice

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Are we still tempted by anything at all in the world?

1jo 2:16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
Are we still in the world of temptation?
God says our old man is crucified with Christ?

Tempted , what has that got to do with our old man already been crucified with Christ, therefore it’s dead?

It’s our old mindset that needs renewing as Gods word says...we have the new nature when we are Born Again.

Ephesians 4:22-24​

Ephesians 4:22-24 KJV​

that ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.