Theology Made Simple

The Concerns of Jesus, Part 13

The Kingdom

Jesus placed great importance on "the Kingdom", in His teaching and in His prayers. In essay #12, I talked about, "Thy Kingdom come", which Jesus prayed in His model prayer. Several have asked questions about "the Kingdom" since then, and because Jesus placed such emphasis on it, we will use this paper to discuss the nature of that Kingdom.

In the largest sense, the entire universe is the Kingdom of God. God created all things, and therefore He is the ultimate Ruler and King of all. However, when the word "Kingdom" is used in the Bible, it refers to something other than God's
universal power over all creation. In Daniel 2:44, the prophet said, "...the God of Heaven shall set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed." From these words, we conclude that God was going to establish, here on earth, something which He called "the Kingdom".

When John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness, he said, "...the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." In Matthew 4, Jesus said, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near." In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus opened with these words, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." In Matthew 13, we have a series of parables saying, "...the Kingdom of Heaven is like...", and many illustrations follow. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, "Seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven etc." Finally, Jesus stood before Pilate and said His Kingdom was not of this world.

From these, and many more passages, we can understand certain things about the Kingdom. Because it is called "the Kingdom of Heaven", we understand that it connects earthbound man to that which is eternal. Heaven is not a place, for a place is locatable, and heaven is not "somewhere". It is where God is, and God is not limited in either time or space. Therefore, heaven is that state of absolute perfection, which is the eternal dwelling place of God. We have to speak of it as a "place", for we have no words to describe eternity.

Understanding this helps us to see that God promised, in ages past, to set up, here on earth, a way for man to be connected to the eternal. To be in "the Kingdom" is to be related to the King. It is to accept Him as the Lord of my life...His will as
the guiding principle of every decision...His purposes to supercede all other things in my world. Those who do this, accept the shed blood of Jesus Christ, and are cleansed of their sins, so they can spiritually dwell in the presence of God, who
does not dwell in sin. Conversely, His Spirit indwells all who have accepted the atoning sacrifice, giving them strength to overcome, and forgiving them when they do not.

Paul, in the Colossian letter says, "...He has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness, and translated us into the Kingdom of His dear Son." Therefore, those who have been called out of sin, into the Kingdom of righteousness, are the "called-
out ones", or the "church". However, the Kingdom is much wider and greater than the church. Jesus, in His prayer, prayed for the Kingdom to encompass the entire universe. He asked that God's will be done in earth, as it was in heaven, which is
absolute and complete.

Finally then, we understand that the church is made up of those who have accepted Jesus Christ, and have marched out of the world of Satan's power, into the Kingdom where God rules complete. However, when all time shall end, the eternal Kingdom of God will endure forever, and will encompass everything for all eternity. Those who accept Jesus Christ here, place themselves under His rule, and in the Kingdom, which shall never pass away, as He promised through Daniel, in ages long past. The prayer, "Thy Kingdom come", envisions that glorious victory.

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