In the past three kingdom articles, we’ve demonstrated that not only did Paul preach the kingdom of God as did Christ and John, the Baptizer, but he preached it in the book of Acts. That’s not very comforting for the Dispensational view which needs a long delay between announcement of the kingdom by Christ, (Mark. 1:14-15), and fulfillment.

So, while they continue to play the guessing game, the rest of us will have to endure the glory of the present kingdom. Glory, oh yes, the glory.  In today’s study, we’re going to briefly discuss Paul’s preaching of the glory of God. Let’s see where shall we begin?  How about 2 Corinthians 4:3-4?

Did Paul Preach The Gospel of the Glory of Christ

“But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God should shine on them.

For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake.”

Now, before we go any further, let’s make it clear that Paul’s subject is “preaching the gospel.”  And although some will not be able to “see” this, he explains that it is because it is “veiled” or covered only to those who do not believe.  That’s not meant to be harsh, just stating the facts of the text.

  • The gospel is veiled, v. 3
  • It is the gospel of the glory of Christ, v. 4
  • It is the preaching of Christ Jesus the Lord, v. 5

In short, the preaching of Christ Jesus, i.e. the gospel of Christ is the preaching of the glory of Christ.

May We Sit in the Glory of Christ?

During the ministry of Christ, the disciples asked Christ if they could occupy the chief seats in his glory.

“Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.”  And he said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

They Said to Him, “Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory.” (Mark 10:35-37).

This is an interesting text indeed, but for our purpose, we want to show how it relates to the subject of preaching the glory of God. When comparing the companion text in Matt. 22:20-21, the wording is slightly changed. However, observe what the disciples were really asking.

“Then the mother of Zebedees’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.

And He said to here, “what do you wish?” She said to Him, “Grant that these two sons of mind may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on your left, in your kingdom.”

Now, when both passages a presented side by side, we then understand that to sit on the right or left in the glory, equates to sitting on the right or left in the kingdom. In other words, they are one and the same.

In our next post, we will demonstrate that Paul also preached the glory of God as the imminent hope of the first century church.

For more studies on the first century arrival and establishment of the kingdom of God, see THE LAST DAYS DVD 5 Vol. set with additional PowerPoint CD for all lessons.