Immersed in the Kingdom of God

6-15-22 Immersed in the Kingdom of God

In my last two blogs, I shared that I had recently gone to The Van Gogh Immersive Experience, which coincided with the beginning of our series on The Apostles’ Creed. We believe in “God the Father, maker of heaven and earth.” We are created in the image of God and immersed in a world that is perfectly designed to sustain us and all living things.

And we believe in “Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord,” who chose to immerse himself in our human experience. The Apostles’ Creed was written to clarify what we believe about the Trinity and the two natures of Jesus in order to correct heresies circulating in the early church. Jesus was both fully God and fully human. He experienced all that we do, including our suffering.

While The Apostles’ Creed says nothing about the life and ministry of Jesus, what Jesus said and did is very important helping us understand the truth of who he is and what it means to follow him. As Jesus began his ministry, he made it clear that he wants us to live our lives immersed in the kingdom of God. “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news” (Mark 1:14-15; see also Matthew 4:12-17).

Dallas Willard explains, “Having established a beachhead of divine life in an ordinary human existence, Jesus finally stepped into the public arena to expose his life publicly and to make it available to the world…. ‘All the preliminaries have been taken care of,’ he said, ‘and the rule of God is now accessible to everyone. Review your plans for living and base your life on this remarkable new opportunity.’…This is a call for us to reconsider how we have been approaching our life, in light of the fact that we now, in the presence of Jesus, have the option of living within the surrounding movements of God’s eternal purposes, of taking our life into his life.”[1]

Richard Foster makes clear what is meant by the good news: “It is very simply, that people—all people—can enter into a living and abundant life with God in his kingdom of love now, and that this reality will continue on, and indeed intensify, after death…. The good news is that in Jesus himself the way has been opened for you and for me to come freely into God’s great kingdom of love.”[2]

I don’t know if you caught that. The good news is not that we will go to heaven when we die. The good news is that we can begin living in the kingdom of God right here and now. We are invited into this immersive experience, this reality that we can live in an interactive friendship with God now as we put our trust in Jesus and follow him.

We read in the gospels how the first disciples heard and accepted Jesus’ invitation to follow him (Mark 1:16-20, 2:13- 17; Matthew 4:18-22), leaving their families and vocations to do so. They were not only hearing the good news being proclaimed but also experiencing the reality of it as they witnessed the power of God at work in the life and ministry of Jesus.

While we do not have Jesus physically present as he was in his earthly life, the Holy Spirit continues his ministry through his people. Living life in the kingdom of God is our calling, and this is available to all who trust in Jesus and are willing to arrange their lives to follow him. I don’t know about you, but this sounds like the ultimate immersive experience. It doesn’t last just a few hours or even our lifetime on earth. It begins now and lasts forever. Wow!

My favorite translation of the Great Commission is by Dallas Willard who writes, “I have been given say over all things in heaven and in the earth. As you go, therefore, make disciples of all kinds of people, submerge them in Trinitarian Presence, and show them how to do everything I have commanded.  And now look: I am with you every minute until the job’s done” (Matthew 28:18-20).

Whether we are conscious of it or not, all of us are living a life that is immersed in something. Most of us are immersed in the values of the busy, frenetic, noisy, demanding, and high-expectation culture. And be sure of this: those cultural realities and values are shaping us and shaping our children all the time.

But God’s heart is that we would be immersed in the Trinitarian presence. As God’s beloved, we are meant to experience the love of God washing over us, the grace of Christ accomplishing for us what we can’t accomplish on our own, and the Holy Spirit renewing us to a new and different kind of life characterized by the fruit of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).

In baptism, we are reminded that because of Jesus, we belong to God and to body of believers. Baptism marks a transition from life outside the Christian community to discipleship or apprenticeship within it. This is not an individual endeavor. Community is central to spiritual formation in Christ and the experience of living immersed in the kingdom of God. What does this look like?

As I write this, the summer months have just begun, which can provide a change of pace and time for rest, relaxation, more time with family, and even time away. Without even being conscious of it, we may “take a vacation” from intentionally living life in the kingdom. I hope we will keep Jesus and his kingdom before us and choose immersive experiences that help us to cultivate our eternal relationship with God and with his people.

This summer can be a rich time of growing deeper in our faith as a congregation as we immerse ourselves in God’s word and prayerfully reflect on daily devotions and weekly sermons related to The Apostles’ Creed. Corporate worship is meant to be an immersive experience in which we gather as God’s people, turn our full attention to God, listen to his voice, and give our Triune God the honor and thanks he is due as our creator, redeemer, and sustainer. Summer is also a wonderful time to immerse ourselves in fellowship as we enjoy summer breakfasts between services.

Summer can also provide some space to think and pray about how we want to engage in the fall in meaningful spiritual practices, community, and service opportunities so that we can gain a deeper experience of what is already true. Jesus showed us what it means to be fully alive, living in intimate connection with the Father, ministering in the power of the Holy Spirit. We’re invited to live what we believe as those immersed in the Trinity living life in the kingdom of God now and forever.

[1] Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1998), 15.

[2] Foster, Streams of Living Water: Celebrating the Great Traditions of Christian Faith (New York: HarperCollins, 1998), 14-15.