Righteousness: Which is not our righteousness but Christ’s. We live out this righteousness through the Holy Spirit convicting us of sin and encouraging us to trust and obey gladly.
Peace: The Holy Spirit assures us that we are justified by His grace, having no condemnation. He tells us that God is in control of History, and that our Kingdom labor is not in vain.
Joy: The Spirit reminds us that since we are saved by grace and that Christ is victorious over His enemies, which will be recognized in the end, we should be full of joy.
If you want a larger exposition, John Gill has written a big paragraph on this passage:
“The kingdom of glory, which is the kingdom of God, because of his preparing, giving, calling to, and putting into the possession of, is attained unto by righteousness; not the righteousness of men, but the righteousness of Christ imputed by God, and received by faith; and through peace made by the blood of Christ, and rejoicing in him, without having any confidence in the flesh, which is a branch of the Spirit's grace in regeneration. The kingdom of grace, or the governing principle of grace in the soul, and which is of God's implanting there, lies in righteousness and true holiness, in which the new man is created; in truth and uprightness in the inward parts, where the laws of God are put and written; and in peace of conscience, arising from the blood and righteousness of Christ; and in that spiritual joy and comfort the Holy Ghost produces, by leading to a sight of Christ, and an interest in him and his atonement. The Gospel, which gives an account both of the kingdom of grace and of glory, reveals the righteousness of Christ, and teaches men to live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present evil world: it is a publication of peace by the blood of Christ; it calls men to peace, to cultivate peace one among another, and to seek those things which make for it; and when it comes in power, is attended with joy in the Holy Ghost, and is the means of increasing it; and this is another reason, persuading to Christian forbearance, in the use of things indifferent.” ~ John Gill on Romans 14:17b
This is the essence of the Kingdom of God. (Psalm 72:1-4; Isaiah 2:1-4; Isaiah 51:3) We must lead our hearts to desire these things and build each other up. (Romans 14:17-19)
So what some things we can do? Here is Joshua Harris’ list (Page 165) for some of the things that sow to the Spirit: (along with my exposition)
Take time to read and study Scripture daily
We have numerous copies of the whole canon of Scripture which contains the inspired writings of the prophets and apostles in our own language. Writings which the Holy Spirit supervised and are the words and thoughts of the Son of God. The Scriptures are the way we make our living as believers.
Pastor Matt has written an article about it here
In his book, “Five Things Every Christian Needs to Grow” R.C. Sproul gives some practical advice about Bible Study (using a pen), “I suggest that you put a question mark in the margin beside every passage that is unclear or hard to understand. Likewise, put an X beside every passage that offends you or makes you uncomfortable. Afterward you can focus on the areas you struggle with, especially the texts marked with an X. This can be a guide to holiness, as the X’s show us quickly where our thinking is out of line with the mind of Christ. If I don’t like something I read in Scripture, perhaps I simply don’t understand it. If so, studying it again may help. If, in fact, I do understand the passage and still don’t like it, this is not an indication that something wrong with the Bible. It’s an indication that something is wrong with me that needs to change.” (Pages 14-15)
Gather with fellow believers in our local church to worship and be instructed by God’s Word
We have the privilege of coming into the presence of Yahweh through the blood of the New Covenant and meeting together as believers for one purpose, to celebrate the victory of Christ and adore the God of grace. We can assemble together as the body of Christ to partake of the word of God in singing, in reading, in preaching, and in communion.
Brother Matt has written article after article on worship here, here, here, here, here, here, and here
Here are some ideas we gave after a lesson from Haggai 2 on how to improve our worship:
1. Consider your ways.
2. Prepare beforehand.
3. Remember your first love. (That is, Christ and His body)
4. Get out of the house. (Get more involved in the community)
5. Meditate on the promises of God.
6. Pray fervently about worship.
7. Memorize Scripture about worship.
We will look into this in more detail when we get to the “Worship” section of the Elders’ Vision.
Serve in our local church
In the Kingdom of God, the highest calling of believers is to serve. We imitate, of course, the example of our Lord Jesus Christ whom despite being worthy of riches, glory, and reverence joyfully took the form of a servant and served those around Him. Putting Christian service into practice requires active participation in the affairs of the church and the active killing of self-centeredness.
One of the devotionals for Serving Others (Put out by Baptist Bible Hour) comments on Phillippians 2:3-4, “What mindset invariably leads to serving others? Humility. When we see ourselves as undeserving of the least of God’s goodness, then we esteem others better than ourselves. When our own faults are clearly before our eyes, we have no room left for criticizing others. And when we, in genuine and personal humility, esteem others as we ought, we will cease to look for ways to please ourselves and begin to look for ways to help others. Rather than using others to better ourselves, we will use ourselves to better others. What have your goals and thoughts been about this day? Are you planning the hours in such a way as to better your own situation or as to better the situation of others around you? Is your great concern the fulfillment of personal ambitions or is your ambition to lose yourself in the service and benefiting of God’s people around you? How we plan our day, how we use our time, how we spend our money — these are all barometers of true humility. May your self-esteem be transformed today into service for others. May you find the great joy and satisfaction that only and paradoxically comes from giving up your own pleasure for the sake of others.”
Seek God in prayer
Bro. Matt has written many articles on prayer. (Praying Effectually and the ones on growth are best ones to start with.) As well as BBH.
Again from R.C. Sproul, “Perhaps the richest suggestion I gleaned from Luther’s booklet [A Simple Way to Pray] is to pray “through” three things: the Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and the Apostles’ Creed. There is an important difference between praying the Lord’s Prayer, for example, and praying through the Lord’s Prayer. To pray through the Lord’s Prayer is to focus attention on each of the petitions for a time. For example, instead of simply praying, “Hallowed be thy name,” I might say, “O Lord, we live in an age where Your name is not only not revered or honored but is used as profanity. Bring such an awakening to your glory that no one would think of dragging Your name through the mud or treating it as common or trivial. Let it be on our lips and in our hearts as an expression of our adoration for You. Give me grace to always respect Your sacred name in my heart and with my lips.” In similar fashion we continue to pray for those things set forth in the Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and the Apostles’ Creed. We pray that we will not slip into any form of idolatry by placing other gods before Him. In the Creed we exalt the majesty of the One who is the “Maker of heaven and earth.” These three items give us “pegs” to hang our prayers on.” (Pages 38-39)
I would also add our church’s prayer requests to these three things he has listed.
Talk with a Christian friend about God’s character and faithfulness
The grace of God is an experience we as believers share in common. We have the same Holy Spirit who expounds for us the depths of God and His word and who teaches us what, how, and how often to pray. Thus God expects us in His Kingdom to share our understanding and meditation of His word and His providence to each other. (Psalm 77:12; 105:2; 119:27, 172; 145:5-6, 11)
Here is what John Gill had to say about in his commentary on Psalm 105:2b, “all the works of the Lord are wonderful; what David elsewhere says of himself may be said of them, that they are wonderfully made, even the least and most inconsiderable of them; and especially his works of grace, when it is observed for whom they are performed, or on whom they are wrought; sinful creatures, enemies to God, and deserving of his wrath. These are to be talked of freely and frequently, in friendly conversation, in order to gain a further knowledge of them, and warm each others hearts with them, and to lead into adoring and admiring views of the love and grace of God in them; and all of them deserve notice, none should be omitted, all are worthy of consideration and contemplation; for so the words may be rendered, "mediate" "on all his wondrous works" Here is a large field for meditation; and when the heart is in a proper frame for it, meditation on the works of God is sweet, pleasant, and profitable.”
How do we engage in this type of conversation? It can start with questions like, “What have you been reading in the Bible (and/or the devotional) lately?” “What do you think Paul meant in Philippians 3 about our conversation being in heaven?” “Why do we think John 6 contains the doctrine of the Sovereignty of God?” etc. It will be uncomfortable since spiritual things are sobering to us and are repulsive to our flesh. When we begin asking these kind of questions, we will probably get an answer like, “I don’t know.” And we will probably answer that way when we are asked. That is alright and hopefully we will be encouraged to grow in our understanding as a result of it.
Memorize passages of God’s Word and meditate on His promises
Reading and studying the Scriptures is good for reminding ourselves of God's word, but they are insufficient alone for spiritual warfare. We must implant the Word into our hearts and dwell on them in our minds.
Again, here is Bro. Matt on these things.
Read a Christian book that encourages us to love God more
While the Bible is the infallible source for all the knowledge and encouragement we need, books and articles can aid us in our growth in grace by zoning in on verses here and there; giving us consolidated content which we can grasp a biblical understanding of the topic. This can also apply to audio and video.
Listen to a Christian song that strengthens our faith
Music influences us in a way that we can’t imagine. Filmmakers recognize this and they use it to make their audience feel a certain way towards a scene. Thankfully, several Christian songwriters and hymn-writers have written numerous songs that glorify Christ. We can use recordings of these songs to draw our hearts to His beauty and glory.
Conclusion
God's road to victory is not an easy one. All the problems we see in ourselves, the church, and in our country as well as the international community, they cannot be fixed by carnal means. We are utterly dependent upon the grace of God to destroy sin. And our God has proven over and over again throughout history that He can and will defeat His enemies and destroy all obstacles that hinder His Kingdom. We must walk by His Spirit in righteousness, peace, and joy to be effectual in Kingdom service.
Questions:
1. In what other things has God shown that He is God?
2. What does it mean to walk in the Spirit in His Kingdom?
3. What other practical advice do you have in the things Josh listed?
4. What other "Seeds to the Spirit" that we can sow?
a. What practical advice can you give in those things?
References:
Harris, Joshua "Not Even A Hint"
Gill, John "Exposition on the Bible" Romans 14:17, Psalm 105:2
Sproul, R.C. “Five Things Every Christian Needs to Grow”
A Good Thing, Baptist Bible Hour http://baptistbiblehour.org/2012/05/17/serving-others-4/
Amen, dear Brother.
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