Kingdom Greatness – Law Matters: The Law and Kingdom of God (3)

Kingdom Greatness

Law Matters: The Law and Kingdom of God (3)

Jesus holds out the promise of Kingdom greatness for all who seek it.

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them….Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:17, 19

Our King Shiloh attained His throne by full and complete obedience to the Law of God. He fulfilled all its righteous requirements, thus qualifying Him for the holy throne of God. And He bore all the Law’s wrath and judgment, thus enabling Him to bring a people of His choosing into His Kingdom, to make them His holy nation and treasured possession.

Jesus commends greatness in His Kingdom as something to be desired. Greatness in the Kingdom of God, that treasured nation of priests and witnesses, comes through learning, obeying, and teaching the Law of God. If we have no interest in the Law, or if we neglect, scorn, or transgress it habitually, how can we claim any interest in the Kingdom, the character of which that Law defines and our King has Himself fulfilled?

Do we intend to settle for being “least in the Kingdom of heaven”? Knowing that greatness is available to us, and that Jesus commends it, shall we simply excuse ourselves from so high a calling, being content to bury our talents in the earth and hope for the best on the final day of reckoning?

The pursuit of Kingdom greatness is the calling of every citizen of that holy realm. How can we fulfill our calling as a holy nation, a kingdom of priests, and God’s treasured possession if we entertain an attitude of complacency toward the very Law He has given, which He approves, and which is the way of blessing for all the peoples?

Kingdom greatness is our calling, and learning, obeying, and teaching the Law of God is the means to that end.

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore, editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.