Fulfilling Your PurposeSample

Serving the kingdom of God

Jesus preached the arrival of the kingdom of God and called us to repent from the kingdom of this world to the kingdom of God. As Peter puts it in 1 Peter 2:5, “We as living stones are fitted together with others to form a spiritual house, a holy priesthood.”  Being a part of this priesthood is participation in the Kingdom of God.

The priesthood serves the people of God by carrying out the Great Commission which involves first sharing the good news of the kingdom and then disciplining or teaching the people so that they are grounded in the kingdom.

While our first call was to follow Jesus, the second call is to be a part of the kingdom of God which is the fellowship of believers. Although the church and the kingdom of God may not be identical, the physical manifestation of the kingdom is the church. Paul after his response to Jesus to follow Him, served the church first at Damascus, and then at Tarsus, and finally at Antioch. It was while serving the church at Antioch that he got the call to go as a missionary through the church. Even though Paul had been called by Jesus to go as a missionary, Paul waited till the church sent him. 

Many individuals who are following Jesus, do not want to serve the church but are seeking a call independent of the church. They spiritualize the concept of the church as an invisible fellowship of believers.  While some do get a call independent of the physical church, most get their call by serving the church, which they are a member of. Because we do not want to serve the church, we never understand God’s call for us in our lives.

This call to serve the church is seen in the following passages:-

John 13:14, “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.”

1 Cor 12: 7, “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:”

The latter verse brings out that all of us have been given gifts to serve the church with.

What service do you provide for your church?