Author: spartanchristianity

When Christ build His exclusive kingdom of God, He built it at one particular geographical location in this world. That was the scriptural location of Jerusalem.

If you were to go to any of the states in the US and find a welcome center, you would find a little placard explaining the origins of that state. Included in that would be the specific geographical location where the state was founded as well as the date of establishment.

You can find the same information in many local shops or restaurants. Many businesses are proud of where they started and about how long they have been in business.

If you were to then go to the state of Georgia and start arguing with people and suggesting that the state of Georgia is actually the state of Alabama and that it was founded in the year 1900, you would have some problems. You would have problems because this is simply not true.

When Christ built the church, it was established at a specific place. We can know from studying the Scriptures that this place would be Jerusalem.

This also means that any church not founded at the scriptural location of Jerusalem cannot be the church that Christ Himself built. It is simply an imitation, but not the real thing.

Let’s look at a critical old testament prophecy predicting the establishment of Christ’s church in Jerusalem.

And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

Isaiah 2:2-3

The Bible clearly teaches several important things in this passage of predictive prophecy.

First, it teaches that this shall come to pass in latter days, not in that moment. What this does is exclude any religious institution already in existence from being the exclusive kingdom that Christ built. The biggest example of this is the religion of Judaism. If the Jewish religion existed at the time of this prophecy, it simply could not be the church that would be established in the “latter days”.

Nevertheless, there are still thousands of individuals practicing the Jewish religion today.

But the reality is that it is difficult to have a religion when your religion depends entirely on the instant genealogical records of your people. The only individuals who could conduct religious services in Judaism were the Levites. But when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70, all the records and genealogies of the people are destroyed. No one knows who they are anymore, as far as what tribe they belong to.

It is difficult to have a religion dependent on knowing who the Levites are when no one knows who the Levites are.

The second thing this passage in Isaiah teaches us is that “All nations shall come to this place“. This will not be a religion only for Jews. It will be a religion for all people, open to anyone willing to accept to total rule and authority of God by becoming an obedient member of His church.

And the last line in this prophecy is vital, it tells us that this church will begin in Jerusalem.

So again, if God was going to build His church in Jerusalem, then any religious institution not built at Jerusalem cannot be the exclusive kingdom of God that Christ Himself built on the correct scriptural foundation.

But we know that the church is established in Jerusalem in Acts 2.

Before this Chiuch is built, Jesus gives His apostles a few instructions for what to do before the church would be exablished. And these instructions are found in this passage.

⁴⁴ Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” ⁴⁵ And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. ⁴⁶ Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, ^[l]and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, ⁴⁷ and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ And you are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city ^[m]of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”

Luke 24:44-49

Jesus teaches that a few important things must happen:

1. Christ had to suffer and die before the church would be established (again, exclusing Judaism from being the religious Jesus was talking about.
2. Repentance and remission of sins must be taught in the name of Christ.
3. This message must be preached to all nations.
4. This message must be preached first at Jerusalem
5. They must wait in Jeusalem for power before any of the preious points could happen .

This is a critical list of things that must happen before the church can be established. So let’s look again in the Bible to determine if these things happened how Christ said they would.

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all ^[a]with one accord in one place. ² And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ Then there appeared to them ^[b]divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. ⁴ And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. ⁵ And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. ⁶ And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. ⁷ Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? ⁸ And how is it that we hear, each in our own ^[c]language in which we were born? ⁹ Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, ¹¹ Cretans and ^[d]Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” ¹² So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?”
¹³ Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.”
¹⁴ But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. ¹⁵ For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only ^[e]the third hour of the day. ¹⁶ But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ¹⁷ ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams.
¹⁸ And on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
And they shall prophesy.
¹⁹ I will show wonders in heaven above
And signs in the earth beneath:
Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
²⁰ The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.
²¹ And it shall come to pass
That whoever calls on the name of the Lord
Shall be saved.’
²² “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know— ²³ Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you ^[f]have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; ²⁴ whom God raised up, having ^[g]loosed the ^[h]pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it. ²⁵ For David says concerning Him:
‘I foresaw the Lord always before my face,
For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken.
²⁶ Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad;
Moreover, my flesh also will rest in hope.
²⁷ For You will not leave my soul in Hades,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
²⁸ You have made known to me the ways of life;
You will make me full of joy in Your presence.’
²⁹ “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. ³⁰ Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, ^[i]according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, ³¹ he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. ³² This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. ³³ Therefore being exalted ^[j]to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. ³⁴ “For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself:
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
³⁵ Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” ’ ³⁶ “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” ³⁷ Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” ³⁸ Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the ^[k]remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” ⁴⁰ And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this ^[l]perverse generation.” ⁴¹ Then those who ^[m]gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. ⁴² And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ ^[n]doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. ⁴³ Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. ⁴⁴ Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, ⁴⁵ and ^[o]sold their possessions and goods, and divided^[p] them among all, as anyone had need. ⁴⁶ So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, ⁴⁷ praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added ^[q]to the church daily those who were being saved.

Acts 2

We can see here that the list of requirements was met.

I – The Apostles first waited in Jerusalem until they received power from on high (Acts 2:1-4).

II – They taught repentance and remission of sins (Acts 2:38)

III – This lesson was taught in the name of Christ (acts 2:38).

IV – This lesson was preached to all nations in (Colossians 1:23)

V – And this lesson itself was preached in Jeruslem.

Without each of these individual requirements being met, no church can claim that it is the exlucise kingdom of God that Christ Himself built.

Other Reading: Not Every Culture Deserves Celebration.

When Christ built His one and only exclusive church in Acts 2, He built it upon the correct scriptural foundation. this foundation is the scripture and the Christ Himself.

The Bible teaches that Christ acts as the foundation for the entire church. this is mentioned from the old testament prophecy to the words of Christ himself.

Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Ephesians 2:19-22

Here the Bible simply and plainly teaches that Christ is the chief cornerstone of the foundation of the household of God.

He alone was the one on whom the church could have been built.

Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.

Isaiah 28:16

This is an explicit Old Testament Prophecy concerning Christ the cornerstone of the church. Let’s look at one more.

²² The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.

Psalm 118:22-23

The bible teaches that Christ is not only the builder of the kingdom of God, but He is also the very foundation upon which that kingdom is built.

Further Reading: How to Have Strong Faith When Times are Good.

When it comes to the church that Christ built, there are a lot of misconceptions. many think that Christ built multiple churches, but this is not the case. In fact, Christ established one church and it came to fruition after He ascended into heaven. But the most important part is the fact that Christ is the scriptural builder of the scriptural church.

In Mathew 16:18, the bible says, “And I say unto you that you are Peter and upon this rock, I will build my church and the gates of hades shall not prevail against it“.

Jesus clearly states that He will be the one building the church. Not Martin Luther. Not John the baptizer. Only Christ would be the one building a church.

He also specifically says that it will be His church. Christ is the scriptural builder of His own church, established in Acts 2.

He also teaches that He will build only one church. He does not say that He will build His “churches”. AndHe uses the singular form of the word to denote unity and singularity. Christ is always pursuing and desiring unity for His people.

“I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. ¹⁰ And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. ¹¹ Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep^[d] through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.¹² While I was with them ^[e]in the world, I kept them in ^[f]Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is ^[g]lost except the son of ^[h]perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. ¹³ But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. ¹⁴ I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁵ I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁷ Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. ¹⁸ As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. ¹⁹ And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

John 17:9-19

Christ is the scriptural builder of one and only one church.

He teaches this concept explicitly in His words. Yet there are a seemingly infinite number of divisions in the world today, and that should not be the case.

No church can claim to be from God if it was built by a man. so examine your church, study its history and decide whether you are a member of the one exclusive kingdom of God and Christ Himself built.

Other Reading: Intrinsic Motivation

If you want to eliminate obstacles in your life you need to attack them one at a time. You will never do yourself any favors by dividing and diluting your efforts. We make the most progress in life when we focus our fire on one singular pursuit.

Does this come at the cost of other pursuits? Absolutely. But it also comes at the great gain of allowing you to make rapid progress on your singular pursuits. this is important if you want to make any noticeable progress on the things you are doing in life.

I – Identify all the things you want to change i your life.

It is impossible to concentrate fire if you do not have a target to fire at. Creating targets come from making a list of all the things you want to do, or all the things you want to stop doing.

Once you have them all written out, take a good look at them. Cross out any goals or desires that are coming from external sources. The previous week’s article talked about the difference between internal and external desires. When you are wanting to be intense and make a significant difference in your life, the desire has to come from inside you if it is going to last. External desires fade quickly. Once you run into a moment of difficulty, the desire will be gone.

So make sure everything you want is what you truly want. Cull your list until you have a handful of major, critical things you want to change in your life

II – Prioritize these items based on their value.

Identify the changes that would make the biggest difference in your world and rank them from greatest to least. You can make changes in any order you want, but it only makes sense to first target those changes that will make the greatest difference in your life.

Once you have ranked the changes you need to make, select the top change and break it down into its fundamental units.

Break down the change until you have identified the smallest measurable unit of action. This action should be so small that it seems silly to take it. But it is actually going to make all the difference in the world when you take it. Because that one action, no matter how small, does something incredibly powerful for you. It gets the ball rolling

We fail so many things in life because we are not able to get the ball rolling. We don’t get the ball rolling because it seems like it will require a herculean effort to do so. By breaking down the goal into its smallest parts, you remove the mentality that it must require a herculean effort to get started. This allows you to take action and start moving, which is the most powerful of all things.

III – Once the ball is rolling, slowly add effort- Focus Fire

I’m a believer that effort should be built over time. that one should start small and improve his efforts from there.

If you start out requiring too much from yourself, you will burn out. You have to build endurance in your mind just like you would build endurance in your body. Do too much before you are ready and you will damage yourself, and then require far more time to recover than is necessary and slow your progress. But start small and work up and you will adapt to the new healthy demands you are placing on yourself and you will improve. Maybe you won’t get the results you want right off the bat, but you are building up the strength of the “take action” muscle. This muscle is weak in the majority of people. Start strengthening it with a little bit of work each day and improve yourself from there.

Do not push yourself to improve your work endurance too quickly. Our primary goal is to develop day to day consistency with the new self.

Increasing the workload of what we are doing is a secondary goal. It is a very important goal, but it will not profit us anything if we cannot even be consistent day-to-day.

This is why it is more important to develop consistency in small goals than to be sporadic with large efforts. Small efforts can be increased over time. But you cannot do anything about sporadic large efforts until you develop consistency. And the person giving large efforts will have a harder time painting those large efforts day-to-day as opposed to a person who is already used to day-to-day consistency and just had to increase his total daily work volume.

Consistency will always be the key to anything in life. From investing your money, to fitness, to learning. A small effort repeated in clear intervals will always provide more of a reward than the occasional intense effort. So learn to focus your fire on one task at a time and you will make progress.