Not of this World

 

 

Not of this world?

From whence came such?

Go with me to John chapter 18 verse 36

And you will see as much.

 

Jesus answered,

My kingdom is not of this world:

If my kingdom were of this world,

Then would my servants fight,

That I should not be delivered to the Jews:

But now is my kingdom not from hence.

 

“They are not of the world,”

He said, referring his disciples

And like his disciples, the born again

Are his chosen people.

 

 

 

Not of this world,

But pilgrims on a journey

To a city not made with hands

In the heavenlies.

 

To the new Jerusalem

That John saw coming down,

There’s nowhere on this earth

Where it can be found.

 

“For here,” said the Apostle,

“We have no continuing city,

But we seek one to come.”

Paul continued definitively.

 

For he looked for a city

Meaning Abraham,

Whose builder and maker is God

That originated this plan. 

 

A city with foundations,

Not of rock and stone,

But built on the rock, Christ Jesus,

That is, our heavenly home.

 

The Church is the kingdom

Of Jews and Gentiles,

Both purchased with Jesus’ blood

Which none can defile.

 

Not replacement theology

But the unfolding of a plan

Conceived in eternity by the Trinity

And not by man.

 

For verily was our salvation

Before the foundation of the earth:

To the Jew first and then the Gentile

Delivering both from the curse.

 

 

Not of this earth for either,

Jesus made this clear,

But of the new Jerusalem John saw

On Patmos Isle appear.

 

A kingdom that is spiritual

A kingdom within the born-again,

A kingdom that is eternal

A kingdom where Christ reigns.

 

And so, I reiterate

The reassuring words of Jesus

On which we can boldly stand

And in them place our trust.

 

Jesus answered,

My kingdom is not of this world:

If my kingdom were of this world,

Then would my servants fight,

That I should not be delivered to the Jews:

But now is my kingdom not from hence.

 

 

In the world

But surely not of the world

Yet, being the salt and the light

As we reflect God’s Word.

 

Stewart Russell © January 2, 2025

 

In but Not Of

 

 

“My kingdom is not of this world”

That’s what Jesus said,

But what did he really mean?

Was it something else instead?

 

He said his servants would fight

If this world were his kingdom,

He could not have meant the cosmos

But the Roman world system.

 

Remember that Pilate had asked

If he was a king

And he made it very clear

Not of this world, no such thing.

 

Pilate finally declared him

To be king of the Jews

But the chief priests rejected this

Implying this was Jesus’ view.

 

Write that’s what he said,

They wanted written on the cross

But Pilate refused their request-

Showing he was still the boss.

 

John 18:36

 

“My kingdom is not of this world”

Keep that in your mind

As we quote Jesus again…

What did he say this time?

 

 

John 17:16

 

“They are not of the world

Even as I am not of the world,”

Jesus is showing his consistency

As both statements concur.

 

Neither he nor his subjects

Are of this world,

If they were when he was not

Then that would be absurd.

 

A king and his domain

Go hand in hand,

It was of a heavenly realm he spoke

In accordance with the divine plan.

 

Not only Pilate had missed this

But also did the Jews,

“We have no king but Caesar,”

Was their expressed view.

 

As long as he is in the world

Jesus is the world’s light

But his kingdom is not of the world

Else his servants would fight.

 

The heavenly parishioner

Is called to be both salt and light

His thinking is not the worldly type

He has heavenly insight.

 

His view is a heavenly city

Not made by human hands,

Just like the holy temple he is,

Not in the Jewish land.

 

 

At present, in the world

But not of the same,

Respecting the civil authorities

But not under their reign.

 

He is a chosen ambassador

With a mission on the earth

But he belongs to another country

Ever since his rebirth.

 

Stewart Russell © June 2020

 

The Kingdom

 

 

The kingdom is coming

Nay, already come,

Actually, my brothers and my sisters

We are in the millennium.

 

This is kingdom building

Being done through the Church;

Read the Word for yourself

Before consulting experts.

 

From in Matthew chapter 4

The kingdom of heaven was at hand,

So, said the King, Jesus,

As he unfolded God’s plan.

 

And throughout the book

From Matthew chapters 4 to 14

He tells about the kingdom

He being the King on the scene.

 

 

If my kingdom were of this world

My servants would fight,

The essence of Jesus’ words

As he showed them their plight.

 

Go to St John 18 verse 36

For Jesus’ exact words,

This should not leave any doubt

Why Pilate was so disturbed.

 

Remember, it was the Jews

That had delivered him up

But Jesus framed it differently

Regarding his bitter cup.

 

They saw a political kingdom

Being under Roman yoke

So, this imposter they called Jesus,

Could never get their vote.

 

He was delivered to the Jews

Thus, to be crucified

And though the Romans killed him

It was at Jewish hands he died.

 

The king had come

And so too did his kingdom

And almost immediately after

Began the millennium.

 

It is not a political kingdom

And it never will be,

Political kingdoms are temporal

His is for eternity.

 

From eternity to eternity

That’s the kingdom of God,

And throughout the millennium

This is to be spread abroad.

 

From Jerusalem through Judea

Obviously first to the Jews,

Jesus' servants had to be scattered

To tell the good news.

 

Don’t be misled by a thousand

It only means a lot,

And even so, compared to eternity,

It is not even a drop.

 

I tell you the kingdom is here,

Jesus said it has come

And there is no other king but he,

God’s incarnate Son.

 

It is not the political kingdom

For which the Jews had yearned

But at present, a spiritual kingdom,

From the Bible we learn.

 

We are heirs to the kingdom

Heirs and joint-heirs

And with Christ we sit in the heavenly

Even while we are here.

 

We wait in earnest anticipation

When the fullness will unfold

For at present, ours is a deposit

Of treasures untold.

 

Stewart Russell © May 6, 2021

The Kingdom

 

 

The kingdom is coming

Nay, already come,

Actually, my brothers and my sisters

We are in the millennium.

 

This is kingdom building

Being done through the Church;

Read the Word for yourself

Before consulting experts.

 

From in Matthew chapter 4

The kingdom of heaven was at hand,

So, said the King, Jesus,

As he unfolded God’s plan.

 

And throughout the book

From Matthew chapters 4 to 14

He tells about the kingdom

He being the King on the scene.

 

If my kingdom were of this world

My servants would fight,

The essence of Jesus’ words

As he showed them their plight.

 

Go to St John 18 verse 36

For Jesus’ exact words,

This should leave no doubt

Why Pilate was so disturbed.

 

Remember, it was the Jews

That had delivered him up

But Jesus framed it differently

Regarding his bitter cup.

 

They saw a political kingdom

Being under Roman yoke

So, this imposter they called Jesus

Could never get their vote.

 

He was delivered to the Jews

Thus, to be crucified

And though the Romans killed him

It was at Jewish hands he died.

 

The king had come

And so too did his kingdom

And almost immediately after

Began the millennium.

 

It is not a political kingdom

And it never will be,

Political kingdoms are temporal

His is for eternity.

 

From eternity to eternity

That’s the kingdom of God,

And throughout the millennium

This is to be spread abroad.

 

 

From Jerusalem through Judea

Obviously first to the Jews,

Jesus' servants had to be scattered

To tell the good news.

 

Don’t be misled by a thousand

It only means a lot,

And even so, compared to eternity,

It is not even a drop.

 

I tell you the kingdom is here,

Jesus said it has come

And there is no other king but he,

God’s incarnate Son.

 

It is not the political kingdom

For which the Jews had yearned

But at present, a spiritual kingdom,

From the Bible we learn.

 

We are heirs to the kingdom

Heirs and joint-heirs

And with Christ we sit in the heavenlies

Even while we are here.

 

We wait in earnest anticipation

When the fullness will unfold

For at present, ours is a deposit

Of treasures untold.

 

Stewart Russell © May 6, 2021