Studies In The Kingdom Of God

Volume 2: Chapter 6: Kingdom Leadership Is Shared Leadership

"Therefore it says, "When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, And He gave gifts to men...And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ." Ephesians 4:8-13

From the beginning of creation, we see that God's Kingdom leadership is a shared or plurality of leadership. When God created humanity and placed them in the garden, the scriptures tell us, "Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness." God is one God in three persons. He is not three gods working together. God is one God and He does all things after the counsel of His will. He lives in unity, harmony, and humility together - preferring one another. When He acts, He acts as one and when He speaks, He speaks as one.

God has one agenda - to expand, enjoy and share His Kingdom with those He has created. As a result, the Father does not have a different agenda from the Son, nor does the Son have a different agenda from the Spirit. The Son is not selfish so as to demand His way above the Father, nor is the Spirit selfish so as to demand His way above the Son. God's vision and purpose is shared and established, having determined the necessary plans and tactics after the council of His will. God lives, works and makes decisions in unity or as a complete unit. God is not fractured, divided or in disarray. His DNA, His nature, character and attributes permeate His Kingdom, and His creation was made to function at peak performance only as it allows Him to transform and rule within it. Paul spoke the truth when he said to the Greek philosophers in Athens, "...for it is in Him that we live and move and exist."

God's leadership is based upon His nature, character and attributes. Therefore, He is the leadership model for all of us who are His bond-servants and whose hearts are being transformed by His Spirit. We are to display the same godly nature and character qualities in our lives as we co-labor with Him in His Kingdom activities here on the earth.

Those who do not know Christ and have not received His Kingdom into their hearts are unable to effectively comprehend or sincerely demonstrate the leadership qualities of God and His Kingdom. They cannot truly comprehend Kingdom leadership since it must be spiritually evaluated, and they cannot practice Kingdom leadership, from the heart, because their lives are not ruled by the character of the King. They may try to practice Kingdom leadership principles but they will ultimately fail because the character of Christ does not rule them and their hearts are not being transformed by the Spirit of God. Their efforts to practice Kingdom leadership will be mechanical and "unnatural" since their hearts do not possess the Kingdom, which gives life and sincerity to their leadership.

Kingdom leadership, to be effective toward others, must first begin in our own hearts. Just as God rules Himself and His own activities through the nature and character qualities that reside within Him, we as individuals must allow the nature and character of God within us, through the Holy Spirit, to rule our hearts, thoughts and activities. This doesn't happen immediately when we are born again. The Holy Spirit removes the "DNA" or nature of sin and darkness from our spirit and infuses us with the "DNA" or nature of God. This "DNA" of God, empowered by the Holy Spirit, begins to re-orient our spirit, mind, emotions, affections, will, and body to that of the Kingdom of God. This process of conversion transforms our very thoughts, words and motivations. The nature of God is imparted to us – giving Kingdom life to our whole being.

As a result of this transforming work of the Spirit, the Kingdom of God steadily increases its rule and leadership in our lives. This Kingdom activity begins to work itself out in our daily lives in very practical ways. The sinful and evil addictions and habits we are enslaved to begin to grow weaker and weaker in our lives. These addictions and habits are replaced by the addictions and habits of the Kingdom – as we talk to and share our lives with God, finding out more about Him through His word, spending time talking about God with other believers, and telling others the Good News that the Kingdom of God is here to change their lives and bring them into a relationship with God that will last forever.