Robin McMillan, senior pastor of MorningStar Fellowship in Charlotte, had an important and profound insight into the gospel of the kingdom. It seems that every message to date which has claimed to be the gospel of the kingdom was devoted mostly to bringing men back into obedience, and was usually demonstrated by having men submit to other men. Certainly obedience to the Lord is an important issue, but it was not the main emphasis of the Lord’s own teachings on the kingdom. His message was overwhelmingly devoted to the authority of the kingdom of heaven over the kingdoms of this world in power, not just the subjugation of men. The practical application of this was that the kingdom of heaven could heal any disease, cause cripples to walk and the blind to see, multiply food, and even allow one to walk on water when necessary. This is why Paul wrote I Corinthians 2:3-5, and 4:20:

Of course, reversing the disobedience of man since the Fall will be a top priority of the coming of the kingdom, and we do not want to belittle this issue. However, this must come from the understanding, and the application of the superiority of the kingdom of heaven over the earthly realm. The authority of the kingdom is about much more than just getting people to obey—it is the truth of God’s ability, His authority over everything. His authority can part the Red Sea, close the mouths of lions, or even calm a storm. This is the authority of the Lord that we are praying will come to earth, which Jesus demonstrated with His life, and we are called to demonstrate with ours.

Hebrews Eleven, called “the faith chapter,” recounts the amazing things accomplished by the Old Covenant saints through faith. In II Corinthians 3:7-11, we are told that the glory of the New Covenant is much greater than the glory of the Old Covenant. We should therefore expect to see greater things done by those who live under the New Covenant than those who lived under the Old Covenant.

This implies that New Covenant prophets should do even greater works than those accomplished by the Old Covenant prophets. They set a standard to which we have not even come close to equaling, much less exceeding. However, before the end comes you can be sure that in every way the glory of the New Covenant will exceed that which was done under the Old. It will be so great that at the end even the Jews will become jealous of it, so jealous that they will turn to the Lord.

Since Robin McMillan started emphasizing this in his message, he has seen a number of noteworthy miracles. We are excited, but by no means satisfied. We must see more, a lot more. We are called to see much more, as we are called as messengers of a better covenant. We must never settle for anything less. This is not pride or arrogance, but the determination to see it demonstrated that the New Covenant is greater than the former. The Lord Jesus Himself said in John 14:12:

We are called to do the “greater works” as a testimony of where He now sits, which is at the right hand of the Father. As the book of Hebrews illuminates, there were no other messengers, not even angels, who were called to sit where Jesus now sits. He is the Son, the very builder of the house, and all others are but a part of the house He is building. This is the gospel of the kingdom—the demonstration of the fact that He is the King above all kings. His authority is over heaven and earth, and He can therefore release through His messengers dominion over the very nature of the earthly realm.

Obedience to the King is crucial for living in the kingdom. Being an ambassador for the kingdom is crucial as well, but this is often twisted into simply trying to get men to submit to other men. What we are after is much higher than that. Those who truly understand the kingdom and its authority, will have a profound respect for all authority. They will give honor to those to whom honor is due. They will pay their taxes just as the Lord instructed, and respect the authorities of this realm as also being servants of the Lord (see Romans 13). Even so, bringing the kingdom to earth is much more than bringing submission and obedience to authority—it is bringing the unlimited resources and power of the kingdom of heaven to the earth. This must be our resolve—to demonstrate our King’s authority over all things.