The Divine Trinity vs. The Kingdom of God

 

Acts 1:3 - To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God

Acts 1:4-5 - And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence

Acts 8:12 - But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women

 

Item

The Divine Trinity

The Kingdom of God

Meaning

God exists as Triune: Father, Son, Spirit

The main attribute of the Godhead

Refers to God being triune, the revelation of God's essence

The unique God existing in three persons

The realm of God's life and reign

Christ as life expanding into believers

The multiplication and enlargement of the resurrected Christ

• Not a visible material realm, but a person (the Lord Jesus Christ)

Operation

The Father exalts the Son, the Son ascends, the Spirit is poured out

Father, Son, Spirit are closely united in the pouring out of the Spirit

The Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Jesus are used interchangeably

The Triune God is fully contained in the Son's ascension and Spirit's outpouring

The processed Triune God becomes the ultimate consummation

Christ as the kingdom seed being sown

In ascension, through the Spirit, by means of disciples, multiplying

Through the expansion of the churches on earth

Believers enter through regeneration with divine life

Operating in God's righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit

Distinction

• Focuses on God's essence and attributes

Reveals "what God is"

The eternal relationship of three persons

• God's inner mystery

The structure and framework of the entire New Testament

• Focuses on God's reign and expansion

Manifests "what God does"

The outward expression of God's life

The central theme of apostolic preaching

Christ's multiplication and building on earth

Examples

The Spirit of Jesus contains divine elements, human elements, and elements of human living and death

God purchased the church with His own blood (God becoming God-man)

Paul was constituted by the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Jesus

The Triune God becomes believers' constitution and expression

The churches are the manifestation of God's kingdom on earth

Believers' regeneration and growth

The apostles' preaching and establishing of churches

Believers entering God's kingdom through tribulations

Paul's proclamation of God's kingdom is teaching the things of Christ

Application

Believers need to be governed by the revelation of the Triune God

Recognize that the Triune God is our constitution

Experience the operation of Father, Son, Spirit in life

Let the all-inclusive Spirit become our constitution

Become vessels containing the Triune God

Repent and believe the gospel to enter God's kingdom

Experience God's kingdom in church life

Enter God's kingdom through many tribulations

Enjoy the righteousness, peace, and joy of God's kingdom

Participate in Christ's multiplication and kingdom expansion

Mutual Relationship

As Source: The Divine Trinity is the divine source and power for the realization of God's kingdom

Providing Constitution: The Triune God becomes the life constitution of kingdom people

Operating Mechanism: The trinitarian operation of Father's exaltation, Son's ascension, Spirit's outpouring enables kingdom establishment

Inner Reality: The Divine Trinity is the inner reality and essence of God's kingdom

Eternal Foundation: God's triune nature is the foundation of the kingdom's eternality

As Manifestation: The kingdom of God is the outward manifestation and reality of the Divine Trinity on earth

Expansion Goal: The kingdom of God is the expansion goal the Triune God wants to achieve

Practical Expression: Through churches and believers, God's kingdom becomes the practical expression of the Triune God

Completion Pathway: The kingdom of God is the pathway for the Triune God to complete His eternal plan

Ultimate Purpose: The kingdom of God realizes the ultimate purpose of the Triune God dwelling with man

Related Scriptures

Acts 1:1-2 - The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen

Acts 2:32-36 - This Jesus hath God raised up...Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear...Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ

Acts 16:6-7 - Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not

Acts 20:28 - Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood

Matthew 28:19 - Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost

Acts 14:22 - Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God

Acts 19:8 - And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God

Acts 20:25 - And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more

Acts 28:23 - And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening

Acts 28:31 - Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him

Luke 17:20-21 - And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you

 

Summary Points

The Divine Trinity

  • * Essential: About who God is, God's inner essence
  • * Structural: The framework of the entire New Testament and Acts
  • * Constitutional: Becomes the constitution and expression of believers' life

 

The Kingdom of God

  • * Functional: About how God reigns and expands
  • * Thematic: The central theme of apostolic preaching
  • * Practical: Christ's multiplication and building on earth

 

Both are closely related:

The Divine Trinity is the divine source for the realization of God's kingdom, and the kingdom of God is the practical manifestation and expansion of the Divine Trinity.

 

*Please refer to April 2025 International Elders and Responsible Brothers Training General Topic: One Accord and Vital Aspects of Acts Chapter 8: The Holy Trinity and the Kingdom of God

arrow
arrow
    全站熱搜
    創作者介紹
    創作者 JC 的頭像
    JC

    聖經是我們獨一無二的標準 - 生命.. 結晶.. 啓示

    JC 發表在 痞客邦 留言(0) 人氣()