What Is The Kingdom
Of God?
The kingdom of God is the same with the kingdom of heaven.
Some Christians believe that the kingdom of heaven is God’s ruling
in heaven, and the kingdom of God is His ruling here on earth.
As declared in the third commandment, the name of God is considered
too sacred to be carelessly uttered or be vainly used:
Exodus 20:7
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain,
for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
Thus, when Jesus used the expression "kingdom of heaven," He was
saying the exact same thing as "kingdom of God." "Heaven" is an
equivocal synonym for "God."
Interestingly, the Chinese also used "Heaven" as a honorable
reference to "God."
There is only One Kingdom, and the One King reigning in His Kingdom
is God Himself.
Matthew 6:10
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Of the utmost importance, the kingdom of God is the rule of an
eternal and sovereign God over all the universe, and not the rule of
mortal men trying to take dominion over the earth!
Psalm 103:19
The LORD has established His throne in heaven,
And His kingdom rules over all.
God rules and reigns over all of His creation. He is the King of
kings, and the Lord of lords! However, like the nation of Israel, we
always desire to have our own earthly kings. That's how the heathen
nations operate. The splendor and glory of living in a kingdom where
an earthly king rules and reigns is something difficult to resist.
In doing so, we choose a visible king and reject our Invisible King!
1 Samuel 8:6-8
6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a
king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the LORD.
7 And the LORD said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all
that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but
they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.
8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that
I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day—with which
they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are
doing to you also.
In our minds, we believe that it would be wonderful to have a
Christian president or prime minister in government so that we can
do our Christian things or live life more comfortably! But the kingdom of God is not the same as
the world! The history of all the kings in Israel will tell us the
truth!
The kingdom of God is an eternal kingdom, from everlasting to
everlasting. It has neither any beginning nor any ending!
Psalm 145:13
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
His kingdom does not have any reformations, upheavals,
disorders, disruptions, mayhems or turmoils. And His kingdom does not rely or depend on who is the
president of this or that country; who is the ruling party; and who
wins the election etc.
The kingdom of God is an unshakeable kingdom. It cannot be shaken
even though violent people try to take it by force. They can try but
they will never succeed as His kingdom cannot be shaven and be
moved.
Hebrews 12:28
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be
shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God
acceptably with reverence and godly fear.
Matthew 11:12
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom
of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.
Psalm 96:9-10
9 Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness!
Tremble before Him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations,
“The LORD reigns;
The world also is firmly established,
It shall not be moved;
He shall judge the peoples righteously.”
God is the One behind the scenes, setting up governments and
authorities over all the nations! Thus, we are commanded to obey our
government, for God is the One Who has put them there. There is no
government in any nation that God has not placed in power. Yes, even
the bad and evil ones.
Romans 13:1
Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is
no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist
are appointed by God.
God even put a secret plan into the minds of evil and wicked
kings to carry out His divine purpose. All of them will mutually and
finally agree to give their authority to the beast so that the words
of God will be fulfilled.
Revelation 17:17
For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose,
to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast,
until the words of God are fulfilled.
Remember Pharaoh. Remember Nebuchadnezzar. Remember Herod.
Without them knowing what was actually happening in His plans, God
used each of these evil kings to do whatever He desired to
accomplish!
John 18:36
Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My
kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so
that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My
kingdom is not from here.”
Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world." His kingdom does
not operate the same way as our worldly systems. In order to know
how the kingdom of God operates, we must know:
- The King
- His ways, laws and statutes
To enter into His kingdom, we need to know and receive the King
as our personal Lord and Saviour. To live in His kingdom, we need to
know His ways, laws and statutes, and abide by them. Otherwise, we
become rebellious and lawless. How can we live and be a good citizen of
any country if we don't know the laws of the nation, and abide by
them? We can easily be fined or even be imprisoned by breaking any
one of those
laws, whether ignorantly or knowingly.
Psalm 103:7
He made known His ways to Moses,
His acts to the children of Israel.
Many of us do not know the attributes of our Lord. And worst,
many of us do not know His ways, laws and statutes. Like the
rebellious children of Israel, we only know the acts of God - the
signs, miracles, plagues, wonders etc. The Israelites didn't know
the ways of God! They didn't want to listen to God. They asked Moses
to become their middleman. They were afraid of the holy presence of
God.
Exodus 20:18-21
18 Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning
flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and
when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off.
19 Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will
hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.”
20 And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has
come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you
may not sin.”
21 So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick
darkness where God was.
The kingdom of God is God ruling over the hearts and lives of
those who are willing to submit to His Kingship and authority, and
to do His will as written in His Word. Those
who defy God’s authority and refuse to obey and submit to His
Lordship are not part of His kingdom. In contrast, those who
acknowledge the Lordship and Kingship of Christ and joyfully surrender
to God’s rule in their hearts will become the people of His kingdom.
The kingdom of God is within us!
Luke 17:20-21
20 Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom
of God would come, He answered them and said, “The
kingdom of God does not come with observation;
21 nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For
indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”
Now there is only one Mediator between God and men. He is our Lord
Christ Jesus.
1 Timothy 2:5
For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men,
the Man Christ Jesus,
How often have we sought after other mediators? After some
anointed apostles, prophets, preachers, teachers to get a prophecy
or two, a word or two, etc. Some of us have even turned them into
celebrity idols,
powerhouse
icons and
famous megastars! Some of us have placed them in
positions that are not rightfully theirs!
Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,
and all these things shall be added to you.
What does it mean to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness?
It is giving God first place in our life and live in the way that He
desires us to!
Matthew 6:33 (The Living Bible)
and He will give them to you if you give Him first place in
your life and live as He wants you to.
The kingdom of God will physically come on earth when Jesus returns
and reigns as King of kings and Lord of lords in Jerusalem and over
all the nations of the earth.
We are actually praying for the return of our King every time we pray, "Your
kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
Revelation 11:15
Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in
heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the
kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever
and ever!”
The kingdom of God is at hand, and is not yet.
Matthew 10:7
And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at
hand.’
The term "at hand" means:
- Nearby; physically within one's reach.
- Currently in need of addressing.
- Impending or imminent.
- Close by in time or space.
This is the
mystery of His kingdom. It is present in heaven but not yet fully
fulfilled on earth! This is revealed in the Parable of the Minas.
Luke 19:11-14
11 Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because
He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom
of God would appear immediately.
12 Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into
a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to
return.
13 So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas,
and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’
14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him,
saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’
The kingdom of God on earth will only happen when the King
returns! Meanwhile, there will be people trying to establish and build
the kingdom of God here on earth with a secret agenda to reign
themselves and take dominion over others. They don't want to have
Jesus as their King reigning over them. They want to be kings
themselves! Their operating system is
the same as the heathen where kings are tyrants, and their high
officials rule and lord over those beneath them.
Mark 10:42-45
42 But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You
know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it
over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.
43 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become
great among you shall be your servant.
44 And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.
45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve,
and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Many of these kingdom builders and leaders want to be great but
they are not willing to humble themselves and serve others with
mercy and grace. Many of them do not know
the New Covenant
and have it in their hearts.
And what is the New Covenant?
Hebrews 8:7-12
7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would
have been sought for a second.
8 Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are
coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—
9 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in
the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of
Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I
disregarded them, says the Lord.
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house
of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will
put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will
be their God, and they shall be My people.
11 None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his
brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the
least of them to the greatest of them.
12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins
and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
The New Covenant is simply God putting His laws in our mind and
writing them on our hearts; and He will be our God, and we shall be
His people.
Ezekiel 36:25-28
25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean;
I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your
idols.
26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you;
I will take the heart of stone out of
your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
27 I will put My Spirit within you and
cause you to walk in My statutes,
and you will keep My judgments and
do them.
28 Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers;
you shall be My people, and I will be your God.
His perfect laws not written on tablets of stone
as in the Old, but on hearts that are willing to trust and obey Him
in everything we do. Only then, He will be our God and King! And we
will be His people and good citizens of His kingdom! And we will dwell
with Him forever!
Revelation 22:12-15
12 “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with
Me, to give to every one according to his work.
13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the
First and the Last.”
14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may
have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through
the gates into the city.
15 But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and
murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a
lie.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10
9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the
kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators,
nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,
10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor
extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.
Again, we pray, "Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as
it is in heaven." Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Psalm 96:11-13
11 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;
Let the sea roar, and all its fullness;
12 Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it.
Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the LORD.
13 For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth.
He shall judge the world with righteousness,
And the peoples with His truth.
While waiting for His return, let us be faithful and true to Him, trusting and
obeying Him in everything He has commanded us in His Written Word!
Let us continue to know more about our King, His ways, laws and
statutes! Let us seek Him and live! Let us give Him first place in
our life and live according to His Word! Christ must increase, but
we must decrease!
Written on: 3 April 2018