by Zeke Flores<\/p>\n
People accustomed to physical kingdoms often dislike it when a ruler’s authority extends beyond their superficial likes and dislikes or when it conflicts with their political leanings. But that’s exactly what Jesus promised He would do.<\/p>\n
To the outwardly religious people of His time, Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is within you<\/em>” (Luke 17:21). When people enthrone Him rightly, when they “sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts<\/em>” (I Peter 3:15), then He will truly rule as King and Sovereign. And then, He can begin to help them make real positive changes in their lives.<\/p>\n People looking for outward comfort from their government should be aware that all the government can do is rip a band-aid off one wound to apply to another. But King Jesus, who is above politics and socio-economics, rules not with force or might (though He could) but with the sword of the Spirit, the word of God which performs mighty work, if people let it.<\/p>\n “My kingdom is not of this world … My kingdom is not of this realm<\/em>” (John 18:36 NASB, ESV).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Zeke Flores People accustomed to physical kingdoms often dislike it when a ruler’s authority extends beyond their superficial likes and dislikes or when it conflicts with their political leanings. But that’s exactly what Jesus promised He would do. To the outwardly religious people of His time, Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is within…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[310],"class_list":["post-86732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-government"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":24269,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/to-affect-change\/","url_meta":{"origin":86732,"position":0},"title":"To Affect Change","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 2, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Peter 2:13-17 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Peter talked about our relationship to the government - I Peter 2:13-17 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Submission to the government is an involuntary action. Most of us do not have opportunities to chose which government we wish to live under. Even with choice, we will\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":59842,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-story-of-jesus\/","url_meta":{"origin":86732,"position":1},"title":"The Story of Jesus","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 11, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Edited, original author unknown via Forest Hills Faith Builder, February 10, 2008 Let's face it, Jesus was a trouble\u00admaker. He caused such an uproar when He was born, that King Herod slaughtered a lot of innocent chil\u00addren trying to kill Him. King Herod's ram\u00adpage caused His parents so much stress\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/03\/solitarylife.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":89155,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/there-was-no-room\/","url_meta":{"origin":86732,"position":2},"title":"There Was No Room","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 6, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton The couple was about to give birth to the Son of God. They could find no place to stay due to the influx of visitors coming to register for the census, which was imposed by the Roman government.\u00a0This was the hometown of many people who had\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24110,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-could-the-revolutionary-war-be-justified-in-light-of-romans-13\/","url_meta":{"origin":86732,"position":3},"title":"How could the Revolutionary War be justified in light of Romans 13?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 20, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Can I ask your thoughts on something? Just a little while ago I read: \"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":57874,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-legitimate-magnitude-of-government\/","url_meta":{"origin":86732,"position":4},"title":"The Legitimate Magnitude of Government","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 13, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bryan Matthew Dockens The ideology of some, as clearly reflected in current events, favors a government that is practically unlimited in size and scope. Such political philosophy, however, does not reflect the wisdom provided in the scriptures. The legitimate function of government, as prescribed in God's word, is limited\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50978,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-does-live-as-people-who-are-free-fit-with-submission\/","url_meta":{"origin":86732,"position":5},"title":"How does “live as people who are free” fit with submission?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 18, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I wanted some clarification on what Peter says in I Peter 2:16.\u00a0What does Peter mean when he says \"Live as people who are free\"? The context throws me off a bit because he's talking about being submissive to authority. 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