Secrets of the Kingdom

In several Scriptures, we see Jesus—and prophecies of Him—speak to the “secrets” of His Kingdom.

• "'The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you ... .'” –Luke 8:10
• “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever ... .” –Deuteronomy 29:29
• “The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant.” –Psalm 25:14, NKJV

I want to review the “secrets” of the Bible as spiritual principles that teach us to live out the life of Christ each day. The foundation of God’s work in our lives is often referred to as upside-down compared to the world’s lifestyle because it is lived by faith—not logic, sight, or feeling.

God’s ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8). That’s why His Kingdom is “upside-down.”

It’s not logical or normal to the world when Jesus tells us to love, forgive, pray, and do good to our enemies. It’s not normal to believe that when we give, we receive. It’s not logical to find life by losing it. Our work, social, family, and personal lives are all to revolve around God’s ways and agenda.

We know we’re called to walk by faith, but our faith is not the most important part of our Christian walk. The most important aspect is the Object of our faith—Jesus Christ.

Suicide bombers end their lives, and it takes a great amount of faith to do that, but the object of their faith is a lie. They believe that their act of faith leads them to Heaven, but that's not the case. Their faith is great, but they believe in the wrong thing.

In contrast, a Christian with faith in the cross of Christ is forgiven for all his sins for all eternity. The person's faith may be small, but it is in the right Object—the truth of Christ.

Jesus is not only the truth, He is our truth (John 14:6). When He asks us to do illogical things, such as loving the ones who hate us, He is not asking to hurt us. He asks that of us so we can experience His resurrection power at work in our lives.

Christ commands us to do the things He was willing to do Himself. At the cross, He truly loved those who hated Him.

And one day, “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10-11)."

This next week, I want to challenge you to show the world the secrets of the Kingdom in your everyday life. I’m confident that when we do that, God will prove Himself strong on our behalf. Hope in Him is the only reality in the universe, but it takes childlike trust to step into living by God’s ways so that He has the opportunity to go to work.

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