In the synoptic Gospels ‘the Kingdom of God’ was
mentioned many times and if we study carefully we find the teachings of Jesus
were centred on the Kingdom of God. Many discussions were centred on the
Kingdom of God, and Kingdom of heaven, and it has become increasingly clear
that they are synonyms.
When the Bible talks about the Davidic –like kingdom,
in Jerusalem it was a political kingdom, which was very political in nature and
we see Israel wanted freedom from the Romans. When we talk about Spiritual
kingdom of God, which was well understood as God’s rule in human hearts; “the kingdom of God is within you." Luk: 17:20-21.
Jesus in
his earthly ministry was pointing to the fulfillment of the Old Testament
promises, and affirmed the coming of the reign of God. When Jesus came, when
the Word became flesh and dwelt among men the following things happened:
Satan has
been defeated; Luk: 10:18; 11:20-22.
The
scattered Israel has been gathered as predicted before; Mk: 2:15-16; Lk:
14:15-24.
All the Old
Testament promises are fulfilled; Lk: 10:23-24.
The
resurrection of the dead has begun, because Jesus was resurrected; 1 Cori: 15:20.
The New
Covenant has been initiated; 1 Cori: 11:25.
The Holy
Spirit the Comforter has been given on the day of Pentecost as foretold by the
prophets; Mk: 1:8.
The above verses
totally affirm the coming of the Kingdom of God, and it is here and it’s
realized in history. The story of Jesus has marked the history and the coming
of God’s Kingdom. When we talk about the Kingdom of God, we have to be careful,
because it has already come when Jesus came, and also it is not yet too,
because we are waiting for the second coming of Jesus Christ, to establish
everything, and bring it to completion. Since the Kingdom has come through the
death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, believers while on this earth can be
transformed into His likeness with ever increasing glory; “But
we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are
changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the
Lord”; 2 Cori: 3:18.
What
does it mean when Jesus said the Kingdom of God is within you?
When the Pharisees questioned
Jesus, “When the Kingdom of God would come”? Jesus responded, “And when he was
demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered
them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither
shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is
within you.; Lk:17:20-21. Pharisees probably could not understand the answer
from Jesus, when He said, the Kingdom of God, is within you, because it is very
incomplete and also they did not understand the things of God.
Jewish nation could not
reconcile the fact that Jesus was the Messiah, because they had the preconceived
idea that the Messiah would come and elevate the Jewish nation to a prominence.
They wanted a deliverer and a liberated nation, but does not want to hear the
message of repentance and entering the Kingdom of God through a narrow gate.
The religious leaders of that day thought that if Jesus, the Messiah would
come, they would be the first ones’ to discover the promised Savior’s coming, and
not the despised shepherds!
Jesus confronted the thinking
for the Pharisees and told them they were totally mistaken. Jesus in his
earthly ministry preached about the Kingdom of God, and His coming was to pay
for the penalty of sins; “Now after that John was
put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of
God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom
of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel”; Mk: 1:14-15. This was
the first coming as a baby in the manger, the mystery and plan of God for His
one and only Son. In the second coming He will come as a King and Judge to rule
the nations and to establish the Kingdom of God on this earth; “So Christ was
once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he
appear the second time without sin unto salvation”; Heb 9:28.
Jesus
also said that the Kingdom of God would come and the laws of the Kingdom of God
should be understood and written in our hearts. We are called to pray for the Kingdom
to come, and Jesus asked us to seek the things concerning His Kingdom first. “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven”;
Matt: 6:10. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and
all these things shall be added unto you”; Matt 6:33.
When
we truly repent of our sins, and we are led of God’s Spirit in truth and
righteousness, we immediately, voluntarily come under the authority and of the
coming of the Kingdom of God. It is written that we are symbolically transferred
into the Kingdom when we commit our lives to God, and begin to live a life as
the Lord leads and guides us; “Who hath delivered us from the power of
darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son”:Col:1:13.
What
does this mean? This means our primary allegiance is transferred from all the
other kingdoms of this world to God’s Kingdom, and we are totally subject to
God’s laws, and we genuinely belong to a different community and that is the
church of God. As we are totally depraved, mentally, physically, spiritually
and emotionally and also in our understanding ever since the Fall, we can ask
the question, how can we belong to the Kingdom of God, while living in this
world and in the kingdoms of this world. God has never left us as orphans, and
He has given the Holy Spirit, the Parakletos, the perfect Counselor to lead us
and guide us in the path of truth and righteousness and will give us power,
love and sound mind; “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of
power, and of love, and of a sound mind”; 2 Tim 1:7. Parakletos is the Greek
word for Holy Spirit, and He will give us the ability to live by God’s laws in
spite of our human weaknesses, and those who are led by God are called the sons
of God; “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God”;
Rom 8:14.
The Church, the
body of regenerate believers will have the opportunity to taste and experience
the powers of age to come as according to what is written; “For it is
impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly
gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word
of God, and the powers of the world to come”; Heb: 6:4-5.
Can we all enter into God’s Kingdom?
Yes, indeed the invitation is for all, but only who can pass through the right
door and that door is Jesus, God’s only Son. Bible does speaks about our
citizenship in heaven; “For our conversation is in heaven;
from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ”: Phil
3:20. For it is written that flesh and blood will not inherit heaven, and it is
important that humans must be changed from flesh and blood into spirit, and
that means from mortal to immortal, at the long waited second coming of Jesus
Christ; “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit
the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I
shew you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a
moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall
sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For
this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on
immortality; 1 Cori: 15:50-53.
“So Christ was
once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he
appear the second time without sin unto salvation”; Heb: 9: 28. “And
the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The
kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ;
and he shall reign for ever and ever”; Rev: 11:15. The above verses affirms
that ‘Kingdom of God, is not a philosophical perspective, or a perception of
people and we cannot limit that to ‘kingdom within us as believers’. Kingdom of God, is far more than, what believers
think as God within our hearts and minds as followers of Jesus Christ. It is
the Kingdom that God’s faithful elect will enter when Christ return, and what
He is going to establish here on this earth. So we pray in one accord for God’s
Kingdom to come; “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which
art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in
earth, as it is in heaven”; Matt: 6:9-10.
Website References
www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/kingdom-of-god/
The kingdom of God was God'sspiritual
reign in the life of the believer that resulted in... in the
teachings of Jesus,brought about the demise of this interpretation.
lifehopeandtruth.com › Prophecy ›
Kingdom of God
So what about the concept of
the Kingdom of God being in our
hearts? The Scriptures show that this subject should be on our minds. After
all, we are supposed ...
Other
References:
www.precious-testimonies.com/Exhortations/k-o/KingdomOfGod.htm
First and foremost, God's kingdom is the
rule and reign of Jesus Christ in our ... (To learn
what it means to Seek "God's righteousness,"
click on the underlined portion). ...If one is hardly interested in
bringing and giving God glory with their
time, ...
www.gotquestions.org/seek-first-kingdom-God.html
Answer: Jesus said to seek first the kingdom of God
in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:33). The verse's meaning is
as direct as it sounds. We are to seek ...
biblicalstudies.org.uk/article_kingdom.html
The term 'Kingdom of God'
is a multi-ordinate term which includes every aspect
of ...In His teaching Jesus built on and corrected the current
ideas about the ... of like mind to the Zealots, who sought to bring about
the Kingdom of God by force.
biblehub.com/greek/4151.htm
b. breath of the nostrils or mouth, often in Greek writings
from Aeschylus down: πνεῦμα τοῦ ..... 278ff; B. D. under the word
Spirit the Holy; Swete in Dict. of Christ.
www.tribulation.com/paraklet.htm
PARAKLETOS: A Greek Word for Holy
Spirit. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another
Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; ...
www.hebrew-streams.org/works/spirit/spirit-to-ghost.html
In contrast, they used "Holy Spirit" to
refer to the Spirit of God or Spirit of the LORD ...Note that in these KJV
texts the Greek words are identical: pneuma =
ghost, ...
www.gotquestions.org/paraclete-Holy-Spirit.html
In what sense is the Holy Spirit our helper
and counselor? ... The Greek wordtranslated “Comforter” or
“Counselor” (as found in John 14:16, 26; 15:26; and 16:7) ..
