This is just my perspective and opinion, it is not doctrine and nor is it meant t be authoritative. This describes how I try daily, in God's power and not my own, to "walk in the Spirit" and to walk in "The Kingdom Way."
"Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all of these things will be added unto you." Matthew 6:33
What does it mean to be "Kingdom minded" when one is actually on a commission of the King to do a specific work?
The Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Romans 14:17) That's exactly what the Bible says. In essence we are talking about the the way of excellence, the way of peace, and the way of joy. To talk in these ways of the Kingdom, by the Holy Spirit's power and guidance, can be called "the Kingdom way."
Although no such term appears in Scripture, if there is a Kingdom so defined as righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit then it is reasonable to say that the way of living that out is different than all the other ways people might live. In fact Jesus also said that "narrow is the way that leads to life." (Matthew 7:14)
That narrow way is not named in Scripture, but we think it's safe to call this The Kingdom Way.
The Kingdom Way is all about these three things, but all through the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit working in and through us- righteousness, peace, and joy.
Jesus said "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, love on another" (John 13:35), but He also said "by their fruits ye shall know them" (Matthew 7:16) and "if you love me, keep my commandments." (John 14:15)
The Bible says "in your presence is fullness of joy", (Psalm 16:11) so we can surmise that being in a relationship with God is joy. If the greatest joy is to be in God's presence, there is also, we can say, a joy in knowing and relating to people. This makes sense even more when we consider that the greatest commandment is to love God, being then in His presence, and the second is to love one another.
Joy is about relationships.
Next is peace. We are told in the Bible to have our feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace. (Ephesians 6:15) In Hebrews we are told how through the Gospel God brings reconciliation (atonement in some translations), or peace. (Hebrews 2:17) We are called to peace (Colossians 3:15), but also to be at peace by sharing the gospel of peace with others as witnesses and in fulfillment of the Great Commission.
Finally, there is righteousness. Romans 8 shows us how that Jesus died and was risen from the dead so that we could be empowered by His Spirit to fulfill the righteousness of the law. Righteousness is doing what is right out of love and not necessity.
We do not obtain righteousness, we neither have righteousness nor can we do righteousness in our own power. By looking to Jesus and being in His Spirit we are transfigured, from the inside out, from "glory to glory" to look more and more like Jesus in our behavior and relationships. (2 Corinthians 3:18)
Righteousness is not perfection, but it is excellence! To be righteous means a daily and intentional commitment to do what if right out of love for that which is right. To strive for excellence by the power of the Holy Spirit is a key element of the Kingdom Way.
Notice what is missing? Ceremony is missing, "services" are missing, and even formal organization. This does not mean there is anything wrong with these things, but we have to always be careful not to conflate the Kingdom Way with the "lesser" things of our human and earthly liturgical and organizational norms and concepts.
Whose righteousness? Not ours, we have none, but the righteousness of God which comes from God to us and through as as we walk daily in the Spirit. (See Romans 8:1-4)
The same is true for peace and joy. It is God's peace, that passes all understanding, and the joy of the Lord, which is our strength, that comes to us and flows through us by walking in the Spirit.
There are some who think that we have these things even if there is no outward fruit while others only look at the outside, making these things legalistic "requirements."
When we walk in the Spirit, these things come to us and flow through us, from God: we cannot do them on our own and our salvation is not obtained or "earned" by them. We are saved now from "the law of sin and death" and liberated to be able to live out "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus."
Walking in the Kingdom Way, for me, means that I walk in the things of the Kingdom, by walking in the Spirit, and we do the will of God for my life.
We can know what the will of God is for us right now (Ephesians 5:17), and we can objectively know the basic principles and norms of Scripture which can and must inform our decisions (2 Timothy 2:15). We cannot, however, figure out "the begining from the end." (Ecclesiastes 3:11)
If we are in right relationship with God by seeking His Kingdom and His Righteousness FIRST in all we do, if we are walking by His Word and Spirit, and if He has commissioned us, we are in The Kingdom Way.
We can ask "did GOD (and not me) bring righteousness, peace, and joy to myself and others by this work?"
If these things are missing, then so is God's anointing on the work! It is God's anointing that we need to pursue in all our works because the anointing breaks the yoke of bondage in our life. (Isaiah 10:27)
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