WHAT IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD?

What is the Kingdom of God?

                   “He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities ,                 because for this purpose I have been sent.”    Luke 4:43

When Jesus walked the earth his whole message was centered on the “Kingdom of God.”  This was his message as he went from place to place and many have questioned what he meant by this.  Is the Kingdom of God here with us now?  Is it a place far off in the future?  Was he talking about heaven?

According to the scriptures it is part of now and the future.  It is both a spiritual place and an eternal place.  I know this sounds confusing, but let me try to explain with verses in the New Testament.  While Jesus walked the earth, there was no new Covenant, because the New Covenant needed the sacrifice of Jesus’ death on the cross.  At that time the old blood covenant was still in place with daily sacrifices to cover the sins of God’s people.

So Jesus preached the Kingdom of God in this way: “Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”  John 3:5 As Jesus taught, many prayed for their sins to be washed away and become ‘whiter than snow’.  [Psalm 51:7 (NLT)]  I Peter 1:23 explained it more fully “For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.”

Jesus taught this to all the people and the disciples over and over again.  When he was answering the question his followers asked him about when the time of end would come, he spoke about many things that had not yet happened at that time.  Then he said this, “So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. [Luke 21:31]  In this statement he was saying that it had not yet arrived. 

At the time of the Lord’s Supper, he told the disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” [Mark 14:25]  He had not yet entered the Kingdom of God.

He also warned all the people that they must put away sin and follow after God, living a Holy life. I like what it says in Matthew 6:33 (NLT) “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”  Those who trust in God will not lack in anything; He will supply all our needs.  That could be called, “Kingdom Living”. 

This is a good place to explain that only those who live a righteous life will enter the Kingdom of God.  In I Corinthians 6:9-10 (NLT) says it quite plainly, “Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.”

When Jesus died on the cross and shed his blood for the remission of our sin, the New Covenant came into being.  When we are born again and receive Jesus as our Savior, we immediately are a part of The Kingdom of God.  This is the spiritual aspect of God’s Kingdom.  Then at the time of death or the Rapture, we enter the eternal Kingdom of God which is for all those found righteous.

God’s Kingdom is where a sovereign God rules over all his creation.  It is spiritual in that all born again people are a part of it and his creation is a part of it, and it is eternal because He is eternal.  In the end, the rest of creation will be destroyed and all that will remain is the Kingdom of God.