What is the Kingdom of God?


The Kingdom of God, according to Jesus Christ, is within you [see Luke 17.21]. Aha, the Kingdom of God may indeed be another name for your Inner Cathedral.

The Apostle Paul, in the Holy Bible [Romans 14:17] defined the Kingdom of God first, as what it is not; then as what it is.

What it is not --it is not meat and drink [that is, it is not something physical]. The Kingdom of God is not a church building, it is not a social club, and it is not membership in an organization!

Instead, it is--RIGHTEOUSNESS, PEACE, and JOY -- in the Holy Spirit. Thomas Aquinas referred to the spiritual journey as, "a deliberate, conscious, and methodical development of faith, hope, and love" [Summa Theologica].

RIGHTEOUSNESS . . .this is simply living rightly. It is the beginning of our walk of faith. Jesus never put down the righteousness of the Pharisees, but instead commanded even more that we exceed their outward efforts to live rightly [see Matthew 5.20].

PEACE . . .the peace of the Divine comes as a better peace [see John 14.27 and Philippians 4.7]. This peace is the hope of all our trials and tribulations [see James 1.2-25].

JOY . . .which is different from happiness, is the state of spiritual maturity that comes from being on a serious, and disciplined journey that has moved the individual toward achieving a "perfected" maturity of growth. Small group accountability among loving friends is where this growth in measured and evaluated.

in the Holy Spirit . . .or, within the Spirit -- which makes holy. The purpose of God's Holy Spirit is to prepare our spirit to receive God's blessings.


shaloam [for now],



the Abbot



What the Bible Says About...
Starts With (Example: "love" finds Love, Lovefeasts, Lovers.)
Exact (Example: "love" finds Love.)

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* meditations will be forthcoming on a variety of areas that deal with the development of the inner cathedral. If you have a particular area of interest that you might like for the Abbot to address, please let him know at the e-mail address below.

© 1997 menachem@writeme.com

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