After AD 70, Christ has fully consummated His eternal New Covenant spiritual Kingdom as His “New Heavens and Earth” (reuniting the seen realm in the church with the unseen heavenly realm (Eph. 1:10)); and all born-again people (believing Jews and believing Gentiles) live in the “New Earth” seen realm of the Kingdom. We now live under LIBERTY, not under LAW. We are free from the LAW and the curse that it brings. Instead, because of Christ’s atonement for us we live in LIBERTY by faith in Christ.
Christ has come and has set at LIBERTY all faithful believing Christians (Isa. 61:1; Luke 4:18). We born- again Christians are free from the LAW and have complete LIBERTY in Christ. We have the Holy Spirit and with Him we have LIBERTY (2 Cor. 3:17). The LIBERTY that we have in Christ has come by great sacrifice of our Lord. It is something that we need to recognize, appreciate, and not take for granted (Rom. 8:21; Gal. 5:1).
Our LIBERTY must not be flaunted to be a stumbling block to weak believers (1 Cor. 8:9; Gal. 5:13; 1 Cor. 10:32-33). Our LIBERTY should cause us to continue in service and worship of our Lord; and to serve one another out of gratitude to our Savior (James 1:25).
“29”Conscience,” I say, not your own, but that of the other. For why is MY LIBERTY judged by another man’s conscience? 30But if I partake with thanks, why am I evil spoken of for the food over which I give thanks? 31Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to THE GLORY OF GOD.” (1 Cor. 10:29-31).
Do we Christians have any laws that we are to obey? In His eternal New Covenant spiritual Kingdom, we are to love God with all of our being and to love one-another. These two rules that Christ has given us are to guide our lives. Doing so fulfills all LAWS for us (John 13:34; 15:12; Gal. 5:13; Gal. 6:2; 1 Thess. 4:9; James 2:8; 1 John 3:23).
“30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”” (Mark. 12:30-31)
“8 Owe no one anything except TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER, for he who loves another HAS FULFILLED THE LAW.” (Rom. 13:8).
How to Live Worthily in the Eternal Kingdom (by Ed Stevens):
Most (if not all) of the parables and discourses of Jesus are talking about what life would be like in the Kingdom when it arrived.
Since the Eternal Kingdom has arrived, and we are living in the earth life visible realm of it, all of that teaching about life in the Kingdom fully applies to us now. Preterists do not deny that Jesus’ Kingdom teaching applies during the transition period. But its applicability does not stop there. The Kingdom did not fully arrive until AD 70 when Jesus put down the rest of His enemies, especially in His defeat of Death (condemnation under sin to eternal separation from God in the Lake of Fire) by the Resurrection of the Dead (1 Cor. 15:23-28) (Those departed souls who were separated from God waiting in the Hadean/Sheol realm for Christ to defeat the power of death which kept them separated from their God (Heb. 2:14-15)). So, if these teachings applied to the transitionary stage of the Kingdom, then they will apply in an even greater and fuller sense once the Kingdom fully arrived in AD 70.
Everything that Jesus and the apostles taught about how the saints were supposed to live in the Eternal Kingdom after it fully arrived applies directly to us now. All of those moral and ethical and spiritual principles that they taught to the saints during the transition phase of the Kingdom now apply to us in the eternal phase of that Kingdom.
Apostle Paul refused to bind anything on the Gentiles that was destined to pass away at AD 70. Therefore, anything he taught to the Gentiles (unless clearly predicted to cease at the Parousia) was intended for the Eternal Kingdom after the Parousia.
What is our life to be about à how are we to live:
- Rom. 13:11-13, “…let us walk properly, as in the day…”
- Rom. 14:16-17, “…for the kingdom of God is not “eating and drinking,” but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
- Not like the Old Covenant rules and regulations (do and don’t).
- Gal. 5:19-23, “Now the works (fruit) of the flesh…those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit…”
- Eph. 4:17-24, “This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind…that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt…be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”
- Eph. 2:19-22, “Now, therefore, you (Gentiles) are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you are also being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”
- Growing spiritual temple.
- 1 Cor. 6:9-20, “…the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God…and such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified…your bodies are members of Christ…your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you…”
- Each member affects the whole corporate body.
- Rom. 6:12-19, “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body…do not present your member as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourself to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God…for just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness…now ‘present’ your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.”
- Rom. 12:1-2, 5, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by all the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service (worship). And do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good an acceptable and perfect will of God…so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.”
- Col. 3:1-10, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above…set your mind on things above…for you died…therefore put to death your members which are on the earth…in which you yourselves once walked…put off…since you have put off the old man with his deeds…put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him.”
- 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1, “…you (it is plural = we) are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them…’ Therefore…do not touch what is unclean…let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and the spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
- Phil. 1:6-11, “…being filled with the fruits of righteousness…”
- Isa. 32:1, 6-8, 16-19, “Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule in justice…for the foolish person will speak foolishness, and his heart will work iniquity; to practice ungodliness, to utter error against the Lord…also the schemes of the schemer are evil; he devises wicked plans to destroy the poor with lying words…but a generous man devises generous things, and by generosity he shall stand…then justice will dwell in the wilderness…the work of righteousness will be peace, and the effort of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. “My people” will dwell in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places, “though hail comes down” on the forest, and the city is brought low in humiliation.”
- John 17:3, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
There are no judgments awaiting believers who die after AD 70. All judgments and punishments have been paid for us by Christ. It is only in Christ that we are saved and have eternal life. Our destination upon our death is to instantly be clothed with our individual, perfect, immortal, spiritual body and enter the heavenly New Jerusalem city and spend eternity in the visible presence of Christ.
See also related “Topic Studies & Term
“Law (For all Christians post AD 70”
For a more in-depth study see the related full “Study Series” (available upon request if not hyperlinked):
“Study Series 13 Walking Worthy Before and After the End of the OC and in the NC Kingdom”