The Kingdom of God

First - A Little Theology

The Kingdom of Heaven means the same thing as the Kingdom of God, eternal life, and salvation. The Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God are interchanged when Jesus says, "a rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven" (Matthew 19:23) or "Kingdom of God" (Matthew 19:24). Eternal life (Matthew 19:26) and salvation (Matthew 19:25) belong to the very same concept. Eternity and salvation, the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven, is the very subject being discussed in Matthew 19:16-30. Having eternal life, being saved, or entering into the Kingdom of God or of Heaven is more difficult for a rich man than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.

There is the spiritual kingdom that is at hand; it is present right now (Matthew 4:17; Matthew 12:28).

• The present kingdom refers to God's rule and reign and authority in the lives of believers.  (Ephesians 1:18-23). (Philippians 2:5-11).
• The present kingdom is offered to the world and to men in the person of Jesus Christ.
• The present kingdom must be received as a little child.  (Mark 10:14-15).
• The present kingdom is experienced only by the new birth.  (John 3:3).
• The present kingdom is entered now and must be received now. (Matthew 21:31).  (Mark 10:15).
• The present kingdom is a spiritual, life-changing blessing. (Romans 14:17).
• The present kingdom is to be the first thing sought by believers.  (Matthew 6:33).

There is the professing kingdom that is also in this present age. It refers to modern day Christianity in every generation.  This is just a glimpse – a foreshadowing of what God’s Kingdom when completed will be.  

It pictures what the Kingdom of Heaven or professing Christianity is like, and what professing Christianity will be like between Christ's first coming and His return. This imperfect state is what is called "the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 13:1-52, esp. Matthew 13:11).

There is the millennial kingdom that is future. It is the actual rule of Christ or the government of Christ that is to come to this earth for a thousand years.

• The millennial kingdom is the kingdom predicted by Daniel. (Daniel 2:44).  (Daniel 7:18, 22, 27).
• The millennial kingdom is the kingdom promised to David.  (2 Samuel 7:12, 16).  (Psalm 89:3-4).  (Zechariah 12:8).
• The millennial kingdom is the kingdom pictured by John. (The Book of Revelation)

 There is the perfect kingdom of the new heaven and earth that is future.

• The eternal kingdom is the rule and reign of God in a perfect universe for all eternity.  (John 14:1-3).  (1 Corinthians 15:24).  (2 Peter 3:10-13).  (Revelation 21:1).
• The eternal kingdom is the perfect state of being for the believer in the future.   (1 Corinthians 15:50).  (Rev. 21:4-5).
• The eternal kingdom is an actual place into which believers are to enter sometime in the future.  (Matthew 8:11).
• The eternal kingdom is a gift of God that will be given in the future.  (Luke 12:32).

Thoughts

The Kingdom of God – for simplification – is how God designed the world, life, people to be.

Go all the way back to creation.  When God created everything – it said it was good.  It was all in harmony.  Man, nature, the universe – all in harmony with God.   It was as it should be.  It functioned as He designed it to function.   It was “God’s Kingdom” on earth – perfect.

Then by man’s choice – sin entered into God’s Kingdom and everything changed.  Sin broke fellowship with God and Man.  It destroyed the harmony even of creation. (Romans 5:12)  Sin – is Self-rule rather than God-rule.  How WE want things to be rather than how God wants things to be.   And Sin always destroys (John 10:10)

One day, Jesus will come and institute His Kingdom.  All sin will be done away with.  Everything will be “recreated – restored” to how God designed it to be.   But until then – God has left us here in this sin ruled world.    Why did He leave us here?   (Matthew 25:31-46)  (Matthew 28:18-20)

 Questions to Ponder

How would our community changed if God usher in His Kingdom?  What would our community look like?  What spiritual changes would be made?   How would relationships change?   How would our economics change?  Our environment?  What would our community look like?

Has God left us to work in our community – in our world – to try and usher in a little bit of the Kingdom of God?   We will never fully do this – that is God’s Job, not ours.    But clearly, when someone comes to faith, which is part of the Kingdom of God right?   What about the other parts?

DANGER:  Ultimately God wants to restore relationship with His people.   Jesus didn’t die on a cross and resurrect to simply bring economic or ecological change to earth.   He came to seek and save that which was lost.   So make sure we never neglect the most important for secondary issues.

Application:   What will you do tomorrow that will “show – nudge – display – introduce – give a glimpse” of the Kingdom of God to someone?