The biblical answer to confronting and conquering the forces of wickedness in high places is local church assemblies. Why? Because in these church assemblies reside the power of the living God.
Every local congregation has access to unlimited power through Jesus Christ in order to take authority over every local mayor, town council, judge or law enforcement person to teach, correct and if necessary, to “stand firm” against unlawful policies and actions in violation of God’s law and the fundamental law of nature codified in the Bill of Rights (among other fundamental historic documents).
Furthermore, every local church can unleash, through proper procedure and imprecatory prayer, God’s power to discipline the civil “authorities” who resist or refuse to correct unlawful orders, policies and actions contrary to what is true, righteous and just. I cover this in my book, The Kingdom of God Manifested.
Once the local church assembly has established and demonstrated itself as God’s authority in a local community, the looming shadow of the state, federal and global forces begin to disappear. Control is restored at the local level and the new world order stops in its tracks. If the powers-that-be lose control at the local level, they have no power.
The Eternal Purpose Manifested
In addition to the necessary internal functions of a local church assembly such as provision and protection for one another, there is also another reason that God created His church. The church is to “bring to light what is the administration” so that “the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities [civil authorities] in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord . . .” (Ephesians 3:9-11)
On pages 143-144 in my book The Kingdom of God Manifested, I have extracted various excerpts about the eternal purpose God ordained for His local church:
“Administration” is translated from the Greek word oikonomia, which could also be translated “stewardship.” In the Classical Greek era, oikonomia “denoted primarily the management of a household, but … extended to the administration of the state … by extension of the managers of individual departments within a household … The church was the creation with intention of how God was going to set everything in order for an outworking that would expand beyond the church. That administration or stewardship in and through the local church, revealed by Paul in Ephesians 3:10, was a more specific commission: to communicate “the manifold wisdom of God to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
The administration of God points more specifically to the church as God’s voice to clearly affirm the innumerable variety of applications of God’s wisdom that “will match with any situation which life may bring to us.”4 This would be directed to “the rulers and authorities,” which harkens back to Ephesians 1:21 referring to religious and civil government jurisdictions. God has ordained His church to dispense His “wisdom” to them. But wisdom in respect to what?
Wisdom (sophia) combines the principles of God in the letter and spirit of His laws with practical application in all the various areas of life. In other words, sophia explains how to apply the will of God in real life situations both for the people as well as in governing affairs – whether religious or civil.
Wisdom supplies the knowledge and understanding as to how to manifest the Kingdom of God in righteousness, order, and peace. It interacts with economics, morality, education, and all aspects of civil and criminal law, for example, in respect to “right conduct in obedience to the will of God rather than theoretical insight.”
This purpose gives us direction and begins to answer the question, What do we do and how do we proceed? In essence, when the church actively fulfills that purpose, the Kingdom of God becomes manifested in real time.
Prescription for “What’s Next”
I hear the same theme from religious and secular folks who are long on exposing all the lies out there, but short on exactly what to do about it. “We must do something.” We need to “get involved.” We need to “stand up to the enemies who want to destroy us.” You get the idea. I am not criticizing anyone. All are well-meaning.
There is not definitive direction. I think we are paralyzed and at a loss about what to do. Knowledge is potential power until it is acted upon and executed.
What if God was waiting to demonstrate His mighty works of power until His church body is established and functioning? What if, through His ordained, covenant assembly, the Kingdom of God was truly realized in power? That would be the game-changer!
Get educated in the written Word of God. Do you know what you believe and why? Getting engaged starts with accessing the deep motivation of your heart when you pray: “Oh God of my fathers, use me.”
Need help to know where to begin? Check out the Bible Mastery Boot Camp today!
Need a bit more motivation to start engaging in the process of manifesting His Kingdom? You might want to carve out about an hour and 10 minutes to watch this video. You can also find this video on our "Video" section of this website. This is the reality of what is intended for you and the next generations. Watch the video here.
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