The major reason for the prevailing disobedience may be that people living on the earth are too occupied with their security, pleasures, and self-glorification to make the effort to find what God has commanded and to do it.

The Kingdom of God is the doing of God's will in the earth as it is done in Heaven above.

The Lord Jesus spoke of our being His disciple, of taking up our cross and following Him. It appears that there are few believers who actually do this. There are few disciples of Jesus in the earth as far as one can tell.

We are not referring now to the bondages put on us by evil spirits. We described those previously. What we are discussing is the unwillingness of Christian people to obey the Lord's Word.

For example, the Lord commanded us through the Apostle Paul to present our body as a whole burnt offering of consecration to God. Jesus commanded us to lay down our life for the Gospel's sake. Are we obeying God or not? There is no middle ground.

Either we are obeying God or we are disobeying God.

God saves us from guilt to forgiveness by the atoning blood of Christ.

God saves us from spiritual death to eternal life by putting His Spirit in us and by causing His Son to be formed in us.

God saves us from spiritual bondage to spiritual freedom by removing the unclean spirits from us.

God saves us from disobedience to obedience by leading us through paths of suffering. We learn obedience through the things we suffer at the hands of God.

The rulers of the Kingdom (under Jesus) are selected by election and formed by suffering. All who are called to rule in the Kingdom are brought through much suffering so their obedience to the Father may be perfected. It is our destiny to suffer.

That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto. (I Thessalonians 3:3)

The Kingdom of God includes numerous levels of authority and responsibility. Jesus is King of the kings of the Kingdom, Lord of the lords of the Kingdom. The degree to which we must learn obedience depends on the level of authority and responsibility to which we have been called.

The mother of James and John asked of Jesus that her two sons be placed at a high level in the Kingdom of God. Jesus immediately responded with the two elements that bear on rulership in the Kingdom of God: suffering and election.

And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father. (Matthew 20:23)

Suffering develops obedience in us if we respond correctly to the suffering. The sufferings of the cross are imprisonments of various kinds. Sometimes there is physical suffering. On other occasions we are required to follow God without understanding or enjoying what He is doing.

To be continued.