The Kingdom of God Today

The Old Testament tells the story of the people chosen by God to be his representatives in his world.  It also teaches that God’s Messiah will enter his world as a descendant of King David and his coming will initiate a new covenant.

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbour and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Jeremiah 33:31-34

This new covenant will not be a rejection of the previous covenants God made with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses but will build on them.  The purpose is the same, to have a chosen people who will represent him in a sinful world.  This new covenant will be with individuals who will have all their sin forgiven and who will have a personal relationship with God himself.

The Kingdom of God

In the Old Testament the Kingdom of God was a physical kingdom made up of Jews and based in the land of Canaan with Jerusalem as its capital.

The John the Baptist came on the scene to prepare people for the coming of the Messiah and his kingdom.  He taught that God’s kingdom was imminent:

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Matthew 3:2

When Jesus, who claimed to be God’s Messiah, came he taught that God’s Kingdom had arrived.  At the beginning of his ministry he taught,

“From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’” Matthew 4:17

As Jesus continued his ministry his message was the same:

“Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and illness among the people.” Matthew 4:23

Jesus power to heal substantiated his claim as well as fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies that the Messiah would be a healer.

Mark says something similar:

““The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” Mark 1:15

Jesus’ kingdom has himself as its king.  This kingdom is now open to all who repent of living outside his rule but now accept him as their King.  It is an eternal spiritual kingdom, not a geographical or political one.  The kingdom of God is the realm where god and his Son are loved and followed, where his will is done on earth as in heaven.

When his disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray he replied:

“This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’” Matthew 6:9-10

God’s kingdom is clearly a spiritual kingdom that is composed of all sorts of people of different nationalities, sex and social class who have come under the rule of Jesus.  Some of its citizens are in heaven and some still on earth.  It is not an earthly geographical kingdom.  The Greek word for ‘kingdom’ is basileia which means ‘the rule’ or ‘realm’ of the king.  Jesus teaches that God’s kingdom is where God’s will is done.

At a school annual speech day, a headmaster told his pupils,

“The point of life is to discover the point of life and then to make this the point of your life.”

Jesus said something similar to his followers:

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33

At his trial he said to Pilate:

“My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” John 18:36

God’s or Christ’s kingdom is ‘not of this world’.  Jesus is claiming that he is the fulfilment of the Old Testament story of Israel.  His is now the universal king of God’s kingdom.  These stories were ‘types’ that illustrated his coming rule.

In his Great Commission to the church, at the end of his earthly ministry, Jesus explains how his kingdom will grow.  It is not in terms of territory but of people who return to live under his authority:

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

The writer of the book of Hebrews was very clear about where the Christians hope lies – it is not on this earth:

“All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.  People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own.  If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.  Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” Hebrews 11:13-16

God’s kingdom is not on this earth.  At first many followers expected him to establish an earthly kingdom with Jesus as its King.  He repeatedly rejected such an idea:

“Then Nathanael declared, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.’” John 1:49

“Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.” John 6:15

Paul’s letter to the Philippians shows that he had abandoned any idea of an earthly kingdom where the Messiah would reign on earth.  He looked forwards to being with Christ after his resurrection:

“I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14

“Their mind is on earthly things.  But our citizenship is in heaven.” Philippians 3:19-20

John and Peter were also looking forwards to a heavenly kingdom and not one on this earth:

“Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.  I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.” Revelation 21:1-2

“But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.” 2 Peter 3:13

There has been an erroneous teaching called ‘Premillennialism’ which says that there is an earthly kingdom to look forwards to.  In this theory Christ will return to rule in this kingdom for one thousand years.  Another erroneous teaching is ‘dispensationalism’ which suggests that God’s salvation comes in two ways, one is through the church and the other through the nation of Israel.  It teaches that there are two peoples of God.  As we have seen this is not what Jesus or his apostles taught.  They saw that Israel is now fulfilled in christ, the Messiah the Old Testament talks so much about.

“The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say ‘and to seeds’, meaning many people, but ‘and to your seed’, meaning one person, who is Christ.” Galatians 3:16

Rejecting the Son of God is the same as rejecting God himself.  Jesus had many harsh words to say to those Pharisees who did just that.  The Bible is clear, there is no salvation away from Jesus Christ.  Christians are the spiritual offspring of Abraham because they are also people with a personal faith in the living God.

“So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:26-29

Perhaps today we should be saying, there is neither Jew nor Arab, all are lost without a personal commitment to the one living God and his Son.  This is the only way to be righteous in God’s eyes, it cannot be earned by good behaviour or by being religious, it can only be obtained as a gift.  It was God’s gift to Abraham who was ‘credited with righteousness’.

“So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.  And he is then also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.” Romans 4:11-12

What a disaster it is for people who call themselves Christians to be unclear about these things.  The conflicts in Israel and the Arabs are therefore not that dissimilar to the conflicts between Russia and Ukraine, the IRA and the British or the Crusades.  They have nothing to do with winning people for Christ’s eternal spiritual kingdom, becoming godly or Christlike.

Paul summarises his concern for those whose focus is on earthly matters:

“For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.  Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things.  But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” Philippians 3:18-21

Christ’s return will be associated with his judgment and the taking to glory of those who belong to him.

BVP