The Kingdom of God

The Kingdom of God

God has always related to His creation as a king. The way Moses described YHWH after He had created all things - He rested - conveys the idea of a sovereign who has built his palace and sits down - rests - to enjoy his realm and begin his rule.

During the early days of national Israel's sojourning, God was their King and He communicated with His people through prophets and priests. As national Israel strayed and polluted herself with the culture of the pagans, she demanded a human king as they all had. YHWH permitted this, and the record in Scripture reveals that there was a remnant among the kings of Israel just as there was among her people; but for the most part, kings and people were reprobates.

This was to set the stage for the appearance of the promised Messiah who would be the final King for the people of God. Jessus came proclaiming and explaining what His kingdom was; it is clear that He was not here to become a king in the line of Saul over a small nation in the mid-east any more than He was to be a priest in the line of Aaron. The sovereign rule of this King would be akin to His priestly role - not in human tradition, bound by laws made for humans, but based on His nature: the eternal Son of the living God.

The Kingdom – royalty, rule, realm. Kingdom of heaven vs kingdom of God. According to the Old Testament and the Semitic conception generally, the kingship and the exercise of legislative and judicial authority are inseparably united. There are some who insist the kingdom of heaven is different from the kingdom of God; they claim the kingdom of God is an earthly kingdom of this age which is being established for the revival of national Israel and the kingdom of heaven is a spiritual kingdom being established for Christians. This is odd when we consider that "kingdom of heaven" shows up only in Matthew - the "Jewish" gospel. Why would Matthew use a term that did not fit the Jewish dream? A review of these phrases will reveal they are the same, referring the one kingdom of God, not two. This one kingdom has only regenerated people within; one cannot even see this kingdom unless he is born from above.

Jesus is heralded as King of kings and Lord of lords (1 Tim 6:15), which is a citation of Deuteronomy 10:17. This is another proof that Jesus is God. Also, recall from a previous lesson - we are called "spiritual stones" being built up into a habitation for God. Why would this spiritual habitation need an earthly kingdom? There was an earthly kingdom; it served its purpose and was brought to an end, as Jesus declared, Matt 21:43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing its fruit. By this, Jesus was promising the end of national Israel and the inauguration of the true and final kingdom. This aligns with what Jesus said in His sermon on the mount, wherein He said, “Don’t assume that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." (Matt. 5:26) In Matthew's gospel, the word "fulfill" conveys an eschatological or prophetic sense, not the idea of keeping or enforcing. "Fulfilled" means to bring something to it intended, planned end; as we read in Mark 1:15 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe in the good news!”

 

Let's look at some Scripture to see how this kingdom is described.

Luke 16:16 “The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then, the good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is strongly urged to enter it.” This is a huge truth that we must grasp – the kingdom being announced during the time of Christ is something new and different from that kingdom of David. Recall that God Himself was Israel’s King until His people drifted away and decided they wanted to be like all the pagan nations and have a king them could see and understand, even if these mortal kings turned out to be tyrants. In our time, we see God's people drifting into various movements designed to make the people of the world comfortable in the assembly of saints. YHWH took the kingdom from Solomon (1Kgs 11:11-13 Then the LORD said to Solomon,“Since you have done this and did not keep My covenant and My statutes, which I commanded you, I will tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. However, I will not do it during your lifetime because of your father David; I will tear it out of your son’s hand. Yet I will not tear the entire kingdom away from him. I will give one tribe to your son because of my servant David and because of Jerusalem that I chose.”) Recall what Jesus said: Matt 21:43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing its fruit. The nation (Greek word ethnos, meaning people group, not a political nation) that would bear fruit are those from every people, tongue, and tribe that God has called out of the world, into His kingdom of glory.

Matt 5:3 “The poor in spirit are blessed, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

Matt 5:10 Those who are persecuted for righteousness are blessed, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

Matt 13:11 He answered them, “Because the secrets of the kingdom of heaven have been given for you to know, but it has not been given to them.

These passages show that the children of God inherit the kingdom. Others do as well, but let's look at a couple that demonstrate equality and sameness between the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God.

Compare Matt 18:3 “I assure you,” He said, “unless you are converted and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" with Mark 10:15 "I assure you: Whoever does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” See also Luke 18:17 I assure you: Whoever does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” Same message, same entrance requirements for both - the same kingdom. Entrance by fleshly connection to Abraham doesn't enter in either one.

Same with Matt 19:23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “I assure you: It will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven!" and Mark 10:23 Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” and Luke 18:24 Seeing that he became sad, Jesus said, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" The point is not that there are two kingdoms, but that flesh and blood and money cannot gain entrance into the kingdom.

Jesus taught that the kingdom was inaugurated now but would consummate later - when He returns.

Mark 14:25 I assure you: I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it in a new way in the kingdom of God.”

Scripture also shows us clearly that this kingdom is fit only for those are of the faith of Abraham, not the flesh of Abraham. In the book of Daniel we have what may be the most clear picture of the kingdom Jesus spoke of, in contrast to the kingdoms of the world. Dan 2:44-45 “In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, and this kingdom will not be left to another people. It will crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself endure forever. You saw a stone break off from the mountain without a hand touching it, and it crushed the iron, bronze, fired clay, silver, and gold. The great God has told the king what will happen in the future.” This kingdom is a heavenly kingdom with the one true King ruling and reigning. This kingdom is present in the lives of those who have in Christ in this age and it will cover the new earth in the age to come.

One more note on the unique status of the kingdom of God: all things are by Him and from Him and through Him; we have no ability to bring anything into this relationship. The parable of the talents shows us that even the money we have was given to us by the one Who commands us to be faithful. When it's all said and done, we are unprofitable servants when we have done all that is commanded us, not because our service to God is worthless but because we start from a position of spiritual poverty and have nothing of merit to bring to Him.

 

The ekklesia of Christ – the called-out ones are those in inhabit the Kingdom of God.

Luke 4:43 But He said to them, “I must proclaim the good news about the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because I was sent for this purpose.”

Acts 1:3 After He had suffered, He also presented Himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

Acts 8:12 But when they believed Philip, as he preached the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.

Acts 9:31 So the church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace, being built up and walking in the fear of the Lord and in the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, and it increased in numbers.

Acts 14:22 strengthening the disciples by encouraging them to continue in the faith and by telling them, “It is necessary to pass through many troubles on our way into the kingdom of God.”

Acts 14:27 After they arrived and gathered the church together, they reported everything God had done with them and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.

Acts 19:8 Then he entered the synagogue and spoke boldly over a period of three months, engaging in discussion and trying to persuade them about the things of the kingdom of God.

Acts 20:25 “And now I know that none of you will ever see my face again — everyone I went about preaching the kingdom to."

Acts 28:23 After arranging a day with him, many came to him at his lodging. From dawn to dusk he expounded and witnessed about the kingdom of God. He tried to persuade them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets.

Acts 28:31 proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with full boldness and without hindrance.

To be in the kingdom of heaven is to be in union with Christ, for no one can even see this kingdom unless he is born from above. The local assembly of saints is an outpost of this kingdom in this age, as the world rages against the body of Christ. This is why it is crucial we see the kingdom and assembly “the church” as one it is dangerous to allow unbelievers to think they “of us” - unless the Spirit gives life, they are of their father, the devil.

The trend in the US toward so-called “mega-churches” is based on the cultural norm that people will follow a charismatic leader, and having a large congregation indicates God's approval of the work. These “churches” grow large because there is no gospel, no self-denial, no conviction of sin, no exalted Christ, no fear of God in their midst. Unregenerate people who cannot see the kingdom of God are treated as though they are His children. Yet they swept away and tossed about by the clever words and cunning deceit of man-pleasers, failing to understand that the kingdom of God is not a matter of words, but of the power of God; the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Our paedobaptist brothers have a similar problem that should be instructive to us. By failing to grasp the identity of the kingdom, they have concocted a local “church” that welcomes unbelievers who are less than 12 years of age, calling them “covenant children.” They tend to treat their little children as believers, training them to regurgitate biblical and religious doctrines to confirm their status when they approach adult-hood. They put confidence in the flesh, which, according to Jesus, profits nothing. Their congregations cannot be said to be “an assembly of saints” because they have welcomed unbelievers as members. The label foisted upon English speaking Christians, “the church,” gives cover to these people as the identity of that local assembly is not explicitly identified. It's far easier to be relaxed about who can join a “church” than it is to join an assembly of saints. Since no one can be brought into the kingdom by fleshly procreation (you must be born again!), no one should be considered a part of the assembly of saints unless there be evidence of that new spiritual birth.

One commentator:

It is easy here to go to an extreme as well in absolutely denying as in indiscriminately affirming that our Lord made men the sons of God by nature. Some of his utterances, like the parable of the prodigal son, plainly imply that notwithstanding the sinner's estrangement from God a filial relationship continues to exist. The whole trend of his teaching is that redemption restores what has been disturbed by sin. But, granting this, we must not overlook two important considerations which would inevitably lead him to emphasize the newness of the sonship which is enjoyed in the redemptive state. On the one hand, Jesus had too profound a knowledge of the seriousness of sin not to recognize that it must render man unworthy and incapable of sonship in the full, original sense. On the other hand, he had also too high a conception of the transcendent perfection of the kingdom not to find in it in this respect as well as in others something that would far surpass any religious privilege that man could call his own by nature. The kingdom neutralizes the effects of sin, but it does far more than this. It carries man to the highest limit of knowledge and love and service and enjoyment of God of which he is capable, and nothing less than the attainment of this our Lord associates with the term "sonship."

The kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God – this is a spiritual kingdom; it is the New Covenant established by the death of Christ. Each member of the body of Christ has an obligation to protect the purity of the congregation he belongs to, not permitting pretenders to become members; how can unbelievers belong to an assembly of saints? Without faith in Christ, one has no part with Him!

The kingdom of God is the body of Christ. If we think in these terms, not being shielded by phrases and systems of theology, we will not be as prone to drift, not as vulnerable to be swayed by cunning men.

In the first place, the kingdom involves the historic unity of Jesus work with the Old Testament work of God. These two constitute one body of supernatural revelation and redemption.

Secondly, the doctrine of the kingdom stands for the principle that the Christian religion is not a mere matter of subjective ideas or experiences, but is related to a great system of objective, supernatural facts and transactions. The kingdom means the renewal of the world through the introduction of supernatural forces.)

Thirdly, the kingdom-idea is the clearest expression of the principle that in the sphere of objective reality, as well as in the sphere of human consciousness, everything is subservient to the glory of God. In this respect the kingdom is the most profoundly religions of all biblical conceptions.

Fourthly, the message of the kingdom imparts to Christianity, as Jesus proclaims it, the professed character of a religion of salvation, and of salvation not primarily by man's own efforts but by the power and grace of God. The kingdom represents the specifically evangelical element in our Lord's teaching. The same principle finds subjective expression in his teaching on faith.

Fifthly, Jesus' doctrine of the kingdom as both inward and outward, coming first in the heart of man and after wards in the external world, upholds the primacy of the spiritual and ethical over the physical. The invisible world of the inner religious life, the righteous ness of the disposition, the sonship of God are in it made supreme, the essence of the kingdom, the ultimate realities to which everything else is subordinate. The inherently ethical character of the kingdom finds subjective expression in the demand for repentance.

Sixthly, that form which the kingdom assumes in the church shows it to be in separably associated with the person and work of Jesus himself. The religion of the kingdom is a religion in which there is not only a place but in which the central place is for the Savior. The church form of the kingdom rightly bears the name of Christianity, because in it on Christ everything depends.

Finally, the thought of the kingdom of God implies the subjection of the entire range of human life in all its forms and spheres to the ends of religion. The kingdom reminds us of the absoluteness, the pervasiveness, the unrestricted dominion, which of right belong to all true religion. It proclaims that religion, and religion alone, can act as the supreme unifying centralizing factor in the life of man, as that which binds all together and perfects all by leading it to its final goal in the service of God.