Online Bible Institute Paper Example

Those of you who are able to attend our on campus classes at the Online Bible Institute are all about to have to write a paper to complete the Gospel of the Kingdom course. I am including an example below of a paper that was turned in for the class. I think you might find it very helpful if you are troubled about writing your first paper for the Online Bible Institute.
The Kingdom of God by George Eldon Ladd brought out some very intriguing and thought provoking concepts concerning the significance of the term Kingdom of God. I would like to address some of these concepts in a very precise manner while incorporating God’s Word as the ultimate authority of what the author was trying to illustrate. The author’s multiple explanations of the Kingdom of God concerning the Inauguration of the Kingdom by the incarnation, this Present age, and the Age to come must be clearly articulated in order to grasp this very wide and somewhat arduous task of extrapolating the term Kingdom of God. Before I begin I would like to quote Romans 14:17 concerning the Kingdom of God; for it is how I perceive God’s Kingdom: “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Click here to read the rest of the paper.)

First and foremost the Kingdom of God is the rule and reign of our Sovereign Lord over all heaven and earth. We know that the Kingdom of God is a present spiritual reality and a future realm which the Body of Christ will enter when He returns. Jesus inaugurated the Kingdom of God when He entered this world as an infant, walked this earth proclaiming the good news that the Kingdom of God had arrived on earth. He was crucified on our behalf, buried and rose again to His heavenly home and now sits at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us all. That said, it is imperative that we review Jesus statement in John16:7 “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.” While Jesus walked this earth, the Kingdom of God had arrived with limitations bound by time and physical restraints. As He left this earth He did not leave us alone, but empowered the church through the Holy Spirit to spread the Kingdom of God. No longer bound by time, space or dimension, the Spirit of God moves throughout the earth drawing all those who are willing to yield to His purpose and plans to grow the Kingdom of God in this Present Age.
Now looking at this Present Age in which evil exists, we have the battle lines drawn. Yes, evil exists and is determined to thwart God’s plans for the Kingdom. The “Crimson Thread of Redemption” found in Genesis 3:15 began the battle and will continue on till the End of the Age. Nevertheless, the Kingdom of God has come, but according to the author’s text, not with irresistible power. It’s worth noting that the author makes a great point by interjecting those who knew only the Old Testament were perplexed by the fact that the Kingdom of God had come, but not with the ultimate power they had envisioned. Case in point was John the Baptist sending his messenger to ask Jesus if He was the Coming one, or were they to look for another. “This is the mystery of the Kingdom: that the Kingdom of God has come among men and yet man can reject it.” I’m reminded of Revelation 3:20 “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” It is a beautiful picture of God’s heart for the lost and yet the enemy has indeed blinded the mind of unbelievers as stated in 2nd Corinthians 4:4: “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
In moving forward and looking at the Age to Come and the Parousia, we can only imagine what that will be like. The Age to Come will usher in the fullness of God’s Kingdom and the perfection of His reign. However, attempting to grasp the idea that at the 2nd coming of Christ there will be some who will reject the Lord, is a very difficult thought. The idea that the millennium period where Jesus will reign from Jerusalem; and then Satan released again is rather mind boggling to me. It is these passages of scripture found in Revelations 19 and 20 that deepens my faith and trust in God and know that He has all our best interests in mind. Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” along with Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding”; do I place my faith and trust. In my own finite mind I cannot begin to understand the wisdom of our God.
In conclusion, I believe the Kingdom of God is alive and well and that believers have this amazing treasure living in their earthen vessels to fulfill God’s purpose of expanding the Kingdom of God on this earth. The Apostle Paul expounds on this in Ephesians Chapter 1:17-23 in his prayer for all the saints of God:
“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.” Paul knew that if the church understood how the love of God has empowered every believer by His Spirit to complete and fulfill His purposes for His Kingdom, we could change the world and expand the Kingdom of God here and now. My favorite verse, Ephesians 3:20 says it all: “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to His power that is at work within us.” Come Lord Jesus!