Jesus and Politics

The mission of Jesus was not to start the Christian religion; he did not come to win votes against Caesar, Mohammed or Moses. He came to reveal and redeem the authentic image and likeness of God in human form. Gen.1:26, Col.1:15, 2:9,10.

There are 2 worlds: an above and below world; or the faith realm and the sense realm.
To engage one’s thoughts exclusively in the below world blurs the reality of the faith world and paralyses one with feelings of despair, hatred and hopelessness.

South Africa’s (and the world’s) most critical crisis is not their politics, crime or economy, but their ignorance of their original identity and the authentic value of every individual revealed and redeemed in Christ. In one act of righteousness their Maker reconciled the world to himself. Rom.5:15-21.

This is not a Boer-, Xhosa- or Zulu-thing; this is a Christ thing, because in him there is neither Jew nor Gentile. They were all equally represented in his death and resurrection where the old passed away and the new has come! 2 Cor.5:14-17. Jesus was not the second Adam but indeed the last Adam. In his death the Adamic race died and in his resurrection a new redeemed race was born. 1 Pet.1:3. “Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day? Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment? Isa.66:8, Hos.6:2.

Man’s ignorance of the truth feeds his unbelief and empowers an already defeated devil to again blindfold and abuse him. 2Cor.4:4.

God’s faith is not confused or intimidated by contradiction.
He always called things that were not as though they were! Rom.4:17. He never changes his mind; he confirmed and fulfilled his eternal purpose in Christ. God has given evidence to his faith in man’s redemption by raising Jesus from the dead! Rom.4:25.

In total contrast to the darkness that seems to veil the understanding of the peoples of the world, the believers are summoned to arise and shine for their light has come: it’s source is found in the unveiling of God’s image and likeness (his glory) in man. The light of the gospel is the glory of God revealed in the face of a man; this revealing is the most irresistible attraction of the life of our design as mirrored in Christ, awakening and transforming ordinary people into his likeness. 2 Cor. 3:18. “Nations shall come to your light and their leaders to the brightness of your rising!” Isa.60:1-3.

This is no time to run and hide, but to arise and shine!

Note that it is not our job to measure or proclaim the degrees of darkness; we are the ones to arise and radiate the life of everyone’s design, the image and likeness of God redeemed and revealed again in human form.
The true light that enlightens everyone has come!

John 1:3 Everything’s existence is sourced in him; he remains the exclusive Parent reference to their genesis. There is nothing original, except the Word!
1:4 His life is the light that defines our lives.
1:5 The darkness (that trapped humanity in ignorance) was pierced and could not comprehend or diminish this light. Isa.9:2-4, Isa.60:1-3, Eph.3:18.
1:9 The authentic light of life that illuminates everyone was about to dawn in the world! (In human form)

We are not staring into an unknown and fearful future.
Christ is the desire of the nations; he represents their original life! Hag.2:7
The nations are waiting to hear a distinct and accurate sound, then they will come, and their kings to the brightness of your rising. The living epistle is designed to be known and read by all. 2 Cor.3: 2,3. While we are not preaching ourselves, we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience by the open statement of the truth. (The mirror message, 2 Cor.3:18,4:2,5.)

Romans 13:11 “You must understand the urgency and context of time; it is most certainly the hour now to wake up at once out of the hypnotic state of slumber and unbelief. Salvation has come. 13:12 It was night for long enough; the day has arrived. Cease immediately with any action associated with the darkness of ignorance. Clothe yourself in the radiance of light as a soldier would wear his full weaponry. 13:13 Our lives exhibit the kind of conduct consistent with the day, in contrast to the parade of the night of intoxicated licentiousness and lust, with all the quarrels and jealousy it ignites.”

We cannot afford double mindedness, “While we look not at the things that are seen but at the things that are unseen….”
2 Cor.4:18, “You are raised together with Christ; now set your minds upon the things that are above and not upon the things that are below!” Col3:1-16.

Enough bad news! We cannot publish anything but the power of the gospel that sets people free; nothing else promotes life changing faith.

Prophecy is fulfilled in the promise.
Jesus is God’s yes to the world; he is the fullness of time and the fulfilment of every promise. 2 Cor.1:18-20.

We are wasting our time combating politics with politics! Publish the good news! Isa 40:9.
Let’s focus on the Philemon verse 6 model: “the communication of our faith promotes the knowledge of every good thing that is in us in Christ.” The communication of the problems in South Africa cannot but promote fear and despair.

Jesus did not come to win votes against Julius (Caesar or Malema!) or the Sanhedrin; neither did he try to influence the Roman Centurion to quit his job.
He came to reveal and redeem the likeness of God in human life, not as in a display window, but as in a mirror, in us, to free us to be the voice of his blueprint design, wherever we are. Col.1:13-15. In God’s economy the individual represents the masses! Your life is God’s strategy, you are his voice, his message wrapped your person.

We are not to confuse or mix the message of grace with religious legalism. The truth that sets people free cannot be the exposing of sin!
The law did that and it didn’t work.
Grace and truth comes thru Jesus.
Jesus dealt with sin and broke its power-claim in the human body. “Sin was your master while the law was your measure; now grace rules.” (The law revealed your slavery to sin, now grace reveals your freedom from it.) Rom.6:14.

To walk in the light as he is in the light means to understand the success of the cross! Our point of departure is the finished work of Christ.
This does not mean that we now have an excuse to continue in sin or to go into denial if someone has sinned, on the contrary, in the light of man’s joint-crucifixion and joint-resurrection with Jesus, we can speak to sin and sickness with the same authority that God does. The Greek word for confession, homologeo means to say the same thing.

Our influence in society, regardless of our profession, is determined by our faith, and not our political sentiment or job-description; our faith is sourced in Christ, in his perfect work of reconciling a hostile world to himself, not counting (calculating) their trespasses as evidence against them, but considering his justice met in his perfect act of righteousness.
Since God is persuaded about the innocence of man as evidenced in the resurrection we can afford to agree with him! (Rom.4:25, Acts 17:30,31)

There must be a “from now on therefore” reference in everyone’s life. “From now on therefore, says Paul, I no longer know any man from a human point of view, even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view we know him thus no longer.” The way we know Christ determines how we now know ourselves and one another! 2 Cor. 5:16. In verse 14 he says “The love of Christ constrains me, for I am convinced that if one has died for all, then all have died!”

Peter declares that God has shown him to call no man unholy or unclean! Acts 10:28. This would be impossible and absurd if there was not something of far greater significance that happened to mankind before they even knew or believed it! Something happened to mankind in Christ beyond comparison to what happened to them in Adam! Rom.5:15-21. God’s Lamb took away the sins of the world! “While we were still dead in our sins, he made us alive together with Christ…” Eph.2:5,6.

Paul reminds Titus to speak evil of no man, to avoid quarrelling and to show perfect courtesy towards all men! “For we ourselves were once ignorant…” Titus 3:2-5. The only difference between us and the world is in what we know to be true about mankind as revealed in Christ!

While we proclaim the sinful state of humanity we are not proclaiming the gospel, and life changing faith cannot come to the people! This conviction is critical if we are serious about impacting our world with the proclamation of the Gospel. I recommend that we become acquainted with our shared position in the throne room, much more than with the latest headlines and statistics of the political world and its corruption! God made that calculation in Christ and now seeks to convince us of its validity…much more, beyond comparison is the effect of one man’s act of righteousness to the massive evidence of corruption and darkness in the world! Col.3:1-16.

“Glad tidings of great joy…!” The immediate effect of the gospel is that of great joy! If what I ponder and proclaim brings anything but great joy it is no longer gospel! I can only proclaim what I am convinced of; the more I ponder the success of the cross the louder my confidence to speak boldly!

Rom. 10:17 “It is clear then that faith’s source is found in the content of the message heard; the message is Christ. We are God’s audience; Jesus is God’s language!” Heb.1:1-3.

There is enough bad news in the media world! Let us give ourselves for the good news! Glad tidings of great joy which belongs to the whole world!!!!!

As I said before, “our influence in society, regardless of our profession, is determined by our faith, and not our job-description; our faith is sourced in Christ” whether president or priest, rich or poor, our influence is only measured by our grasp of the Gospel. This cannot be compromised, nothing but the brightness of your rising in the understanding of Christ in you will attract the kings. Isa 60:1-3. Christ in you is the only hope of the nations. Col.1:25-29.

The greatest thrill is to imagine what God is now able to communicate through a life truly enlightened by his indwelling, the treasure of God in an earthen vessel. Truth deserves a display in your life, equal to its prominence in the life of Christ!
Col.2:9,10.

The authority of the Christ-life resurrected and revealed in ordinary lives is what the Kingdom of God is all about! This is the life of our design and belongs to every man! This is the life Jesus mirrored and redeemed for humanity.

Peter understood the resurrection and did not point the cripple beggar to the sky to an invisible historic or futuristic Jesus! “Look at us!” he said: “What we have belongs to you!” Acts 3:4-6.

To be double-minded is to forget what manner of man you are and be reduced to a mere man. James 1:24.

Nothing can better equip any individual to be a more dynamic, practical liberating influence to his neighbour and neighbourhood than being the voice of the free eagle! The eagle released from its zoo-cage could not fly even though it was freed in its original habitat; its mind seemed still snared in the cage until it heard the liberating voice of a free eagle.

Announcing the legality of man’s innocence will free mankind to know the truth of their original design and sonship redeemed! The cage is open for every nation!
The message of the reconciliation that God worked in Christ will flood the earth like a tsunami wave! Not through some future revival from above, but from the innermost being of ordinary people discovering Christ not hiding in some vague historic reference, but risen in us! Christ in us the hope of glory. Rivers of living water gushing forth from our innermost being.
This will make wars and divorce cease to the ends of the earth.
Today I have begotten you, ask of me the nations!

The du Toits and the Simons’ sons of Jonah, the Jews and the Gentiles died 2010 years ago.
There is no other context but Christ in us.

No other message or persuasion will awaken mankind to the true light that enlightens every man.
It is not his 2nd coming that will do this. While we believe that, we are in the same wilderness Israel was trapped in. They were all equally delivered out of Egypt but believed a wrong report about themselves. Numbers 13:33.

God believes in our design as image bearers of his likeness. His eternal purpose is to reveal himself in us as his body. He called it in Abraham, without a nervous twitch of, “what if Sarah does not fall pregnant!”
God is as confident now about the things he spoke in Christ as eternity will prove him to be.

He wants to persuade us, so that the living epistles will be known and read by all men, and all men everywhere will come to the same repentance, (metanoia) the awakening of their understanding of who they really are, revealed in him as in a mirror; the unveiled understanding of every man’s conscience.
The little stone that Daniel saw, will strike the man-made image and crush it to insignificance and the stone will become the glorious mountain that will fill the whole earth.
Faith sees it now as substance, no further evidence needed!
That is faith; its voice is radically different to the voice of popular opinion proclaiming their realities!