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What the Bible says about the kingdom of God
Mark 1:14 - Now
after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching
the gospel of the kingdom of God
What is the "gospel of the
kingdom"?
If we are to preach the "gospel of the
kingdom" we need to know what God is referring to when He
speaks of His kingdom. Are Jehovah's Witnesses
and others right about a group of 144,000 people ruling and
reigning in heaven someday over those whose are not
"saved"?
Perhaps they have not considered that true
believers become kings and priests in the spiritual
kingdom of God the moment God puts His Spirit in them
and saves them:
Revelation 1:6 And hath made
us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be
glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Revelation 5:10 And hast
made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall
reign on the earth.
What or who do true believers reign over?
One way to clarify what the Gospel of the kingdom is, is to
take a look at who or what the believer rules and reigns over.
The Jehovah's Witnesses and others believe they will be reigning
over other less righteous people than themselves in some future
paradise. But is it not possible that true believers start ruling
and reigning the moment God saves them? and that they rule and
reign over the sin in their lives that they were
in bondage to before God put His Spirit in them?
Romans 6:12 Let not sin therefore
reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the
lusts thereof.
We see this idea of reigning over sin, restated many times and
various ways in scripture, especially in the letters of Paul to
the churches...
Galatians 5:16 This I say then, Walk
in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit
against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other:
so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
Keep in mind that ONLY A BELIEVER can
walk in the spirit, because he has God's spirit dwelling in
himself...
Romans 8:9 But ye are not in the
flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell
in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is
none of his.
God's kingdom is a kingdom that is at war:
Paul uses words like servant, obey, war and
similar terms that are descriptive of a kingdom, rulership and
the battle the believer has between his old sin nature and his
new nature in Christ, as we see here:
Romans 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye
yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to
whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto
righteousness?
Romans 7:23-24 But I see another law in
my members, warring against the law of my mind, and
bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my
members. 24 O wretched man that I
am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Psalms 19:13 Keep back thy servant
also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me:
then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great
transgression.
Psalms 119:133 Order my steps in thy
word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.
2 Corinthians 4:11 For we which live are
alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also
of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
Romans 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye
yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to
whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto
righteousness?
James 4:1 From whence come wars and
fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts
that war in your members? 2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and
desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have
not, because ye ask not.
1 Peter 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech
you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which
war against the soul;
1 Peter 4:2 That he no longer should
live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but
to the will of God. 3 For the time past of our life may suffice
us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in
lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings,
and abominable idolatries
We see by all the above scriptures that we are not to focus on
ruling over anyone but rather that when God saves a person He
gives them power over sin - unto salvation - and
so believers are to focus on having dominion over sin in
themselves rather than letting sin rule over them as it did when
they were yet unsaved.
Matthew chapter 7 contains a vivid reminder that we are not to
focus on the sin in others but rather to focus on purging out the
sin in our own lives:
Matt 7:3 And why beholdest thou the mote
that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that
is in thine own eye? 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let
me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in
thine own eye? 5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out
of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out
the mote out of thy brother's eye.
And regarding others, we are to strive to be their
servants, not their masters:
Luke 22:24 And there was also a strife
among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest. 25
And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise
lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon
them are called benefactors. 26 But ye shall not be so: but he
that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he
that is chief, as he that doth serve.
Do believers rule over people in this world?
Luke 10:17 And the seventy returned
again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto
us through thy name. 18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan
as lightning fall from heaven. 19 Behold, I give unto you power
to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the
enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20
Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are
subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are
written in heaven.
In Luke 10:20 above, what does it mean that "the spirits
are subject unto you"? Could it mean that believers have
some kind of advantage over non-believers, primarily that they
are not subject to the bondage to sin to the degree that someone
without the Spirit of God is subject.
Romans 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom
ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom
ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto
righteousness? 17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants
of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine
which was delivered you. 18 Being then made free from sin, ye
became the servants of righteousness. 19 I speak after the
manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye
have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity
unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to
righteousness unto holiness. 20 For when ye were the servants of
sin, ye were free from righteousness. 21 What fruit had ye then
in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those
things is death. 22 But now being made free from sin, and
become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the
end everlasting life.
The unsaved are not free from sin, they are slaves to it. They
yield to their sinful lusts and are controlled by them. But a
believer has power over sin and by the grace of God and power of
God is able to control their lusts rather than be controlled by
their lusts.
So, where is the Kingdom of God?
A true believer does not have to wait for some
future point in time to experience the kingdom of God. God's
kingdom becomes a present reality the moment a true believer
becomes saved. They experience the joy of their salvation, power
over sin and its shame and other consequences. They experience
and appreciate the great love and mercy of God towards them and
they become aware of the extreme righteousness, holiness and
terrible wrath of God. They experience the fellowship of other
believers in the local church and elsewhere. They still
experience struggles with sin while in their current sin-cursed
bodies, but they look forward to the new world, wherein dwelleth
righteousness (2 Peter 3:13) and where no unclean thing will be
allowed in (Revelation 21:27)
Luke 17:20 And when he was
demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come,
he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with
observation: 21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there!
for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
Colossians 1:27 To whom God
would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery
among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of
glory
John 6:56 He that eateth my
flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
John 14:17 Even the Spirit of
truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not,
neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with
you, and shall be in you.
John 14:20 At that day ye shall
know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
John 14:23 Jesus answered and
said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my
Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our
abode with him.
So what do all these verses mean. Simply that
wherever God's Spirit is, that is where His kingdom is. Some
members of God's kingdom are already in heaven: "to be
absent from the body is to be present with the Lord" (2
Corinthians 5:8) and the rest of the members of God's kingdom are
still here on this sin-cursed earth. God's kingdom spans this
current sinful physical world and spills over into the eternal
sinless kingdom of heaven.
Is God's kingdom an earthly
organization?
In spite of what many religious institutions
would have you believe, God's kingdom, His one true church, is
not identifiable by some physical building or some earthly
organization like the Watchtower Society or the Catholic church.
God's kingdom is actually impossible for blind lost sinners to
see. It is the worldwide body of true believers in Christ whom He
has put His eternal Spirit in. You can see a building and you can
easily identify an earthly organization by its local buildings
and its headquarters but you can't see the Holy Spirit so you
can't visibly identify God's kingdom on earth. Even true
Bible-believing churches are have their share of unsaved people
along with the saved - the weeds growing up with the wheat as
Jesus mentioned Matthew 13.
Who is the King of God's Kingdom?
Is Christ the King or is God the Father (i.e. Jehovah) the
King? Or are they one and the same?
Both Jehovah and Jesus are called
King:
Jehovah is described as King:
Isaiah 33:22 For the LORD <03068> is
our judge, the LORD <03068> is our lawgiver, the
LORD <03068> is our king; he will
save us.
Isaiah 44:6 Thus saith the LORD
<03068> the King of Israel, and his
redeemer the LORD <03068> <03068> of hosts; I am
the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is
no God.
Zephaniah 3:15 The LORD <03068>
hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy:
the king of Israel, even the LORD <03068> , is in
the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more.
03068 Y@hovah {yeh-ho-vaw'} from 01961;
TWOT - 484a; n pr dei
AV - LORD 6510, GOD 4, JEHOVAH 4, variant 1; 6519
Jehovah = "the existing One"
1) the proper name of the one true God
Jeremiah 23:5 Behold, the days come,
saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch,
and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall
execute judgment and justice in the earth. 6 In his days
Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is
his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR
RIGHTEOUSNESS <03072>
03072 Y@hovah tsidqenuw {ye-ho-vaw'
tsid-kay'-noo}
from 03068 and 06664 with pronominal suffix;; n pr m
AV - LORD our Righteousness 2; 2
Jehovah is our righteousness
1) a sacred name symbolically applied to Jerusalem and the
Messiah
Jesus is described as King:
Matthew 21:5 Tell ye the daughter of
Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek,
and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.
Revelation 17:14 These shall make war
with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is
Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are
called, and chosen, and faithful.
We see in the above verse that the unsaved are at war with
Christ and His church (the called, chosen, and faithful).
Christ's kingdom is His church. They - and only they - recognize
him as King. In other words, they recognize Him as eternal God.
John speaks of this in John 14:
John 14:7 If ye had known me, ye should
have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and
have seen him. 8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father,
and it sufficeth us. 9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long
time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he
that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest
thou then, Shew us the Father? 10 Believest thou not that I am in
the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you
I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he
doeth the works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father,
and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very
works' sake.
Isaiah prophetically speaks of Christ's
coming kingdom and goverment and throne:
Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his
shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The
mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and peace
there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his
kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment
and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the
LORD of hosts will perform this.
Parallel passages:
Psalms 45:6 Thy throne, O God, is for
ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. 7
Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God,
thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy
fellows.
Hebrews 1:6 And again, when he bringeth
in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the
angels of God worship him. 7 And of the angels he saith, Who
maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. 8 But
unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever
and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy
kingdom. 9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity;
therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of
gladness above thy fellows.
Looking at the various parables
of the kingdom of heaven in Matthew 13:
Matt 13:24 Another parable put he forth unto
them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a
man which sowed good seed in
his field: 25 But while men
slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went
his way. 26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth
fruit, then appeared the tares also. 27 So the servants of the
householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good
seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? 28 He said
unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him,
Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? 29 But he said,
Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat
with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in
the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together
first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but
gather the wheat into my barn.
31 Another parable put he forth unto
them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain
of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: 32 Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but
when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a
tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches
thereof.
33 Another parable spake he unto them; The
kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid <1470> in three measures of meal, till the whole
was leavened.
1470 ekgrupto {eng-kroop'-to} from
1722 and 2928;; v
AV - hide in 2; 2
1) to conceal in something
2) to mingle one thing with another
Luke 13:21 It is like leaven, which a
woman took and hid <1470> in three measures of meal, till
the whole was leavened.
44 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like
unto treasure hid <2928> in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth <2928>, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that
he hath, and buyeth that field.
2344 thesauros {thay-sow-ros'} from
5087; TDNT - 3:136,333; n m
AV - treasure 18; 18
1) the place in which good and precious things are collected
and laid up
1a) a casket, coffer, or other receptacle, in which valuables
are kept
1b) a treasury
1c) storehouse, repository, magazine
2) the things laid up in a treasury, collected treasures
2928 krupto {kroop'-to} a primary
verb; TDNT - 3:957,476; v
AV - hide 11, hide (one's) self 2, keep secret 1, secretly 1,
hidden 1; 16
1) to hide, conceal, to be hid
2) escape notice
3) metaph. to conceal (that it may not become known)
Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the
world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid <2928>.
Matthew 13:35 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the
prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter
things which have been kept secret <2928> from the
foundation of the world.
Luke 18:34 And they understood none of these things: and this
saying was hid <2928> from them, neither knew they the
things which were spoken.
Luke 19:42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in
this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now
they are hid <2928> from thine eyes.
Revelation 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit
saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to
eat of the hidden <2928> manna, and will give him a white
stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth
saving he that receiveth it.
Matthew 13:38 The field is
the world; the good seed are the children of the
kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
Matthew 11:25 At that time Jesus
answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and
earth, because thou hast hid <613> these things from
the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.
613 apokrupto {ap-ok-roop'-to} from
575 and 2928; TDNT - 3:957,476; v
AV - hide 6; 6
1) to hide
2) concealing, keeping secret
45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like
unto a merchant <1713> man, seeking
goodly pearls <3135>: 46
Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold
all that he had, and bought it.
1713 emporos {em'-por-os} from 1722
and the base of 4198;; n m
AV - merchant 5; 5
1) one on a journey, whether by sea or by land, esp. for
trade
2) a merchant as opposed to a retailer or petty tradesman
Matthew 7:6 Give not that which is holy
unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine,
lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend
you.
3135 margarites
{mar-gar-ee'-tace}from margaros (a pearl-oyster); TDNT -
4:472,564; n m
AV - pearl 9; 9
1) a pearl
2) a proverb, i.e. a word of great value
Revelation 18:3 For all nations have
drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings
of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the
merchants <1713> of the earth are waxed rich through the
abundance of her delicacies.
Revelation 18:11 And the merchants <1713> of the earth
shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their
merchandise any more:
Revelation 18:15 The merchants <1713> of these things,
which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of
her torment, weeping and wailing,
Revelation 18:23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at
all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride
shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants
<1713> were the great men of the earth; for by thy
sorceries were all nations deceived.
47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like
unto a net <4522>, that was cast
into the sea, and gathered of
every kind: 48 Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and
sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad
away. 49 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall
come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, 50 And
shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing
and gnashing of teeth.
4522 sagene {sag-ay'-nay} from a
derivative of satto (to equip) meaning furniture, especially
a pack-saddle (which in the East is merely a bag of netted
rope);; n f
AV - net 1; 1
1) a large fishing net, a drag net
For Synonyms see entry 5808
Is there a pattern in the
parables of the kingdom of God in Matthew 13?
1. sowing
24 Another parable put he forth unto
them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a
man which sowed good seed in
his field:
31 Another parable put he forth unto
them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain
of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field
2. reaping
33 Another parable spake he unto them; The
kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid <1470> in three measures of meal, till the whole
was leavened.
44 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like
unto treasure hid <2928> in a field; the which when a man hath
found,
he hideth <2928>, and for
joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that
field.
45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like
unto a merchant <1713> man, seeking
goodly pearls <3135>: 46
Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that
he had, and bought it.
3. the end of the harvest
47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like
unto a net <4522>, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: 48 Which, when it was full, they drew to shore,
and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. 49 So shall it be at the end of the world: the
angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the
just, 50 And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there
shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Notice how the setting all of this
activity of the kingdom of God is this current world. All the
sowing and harvesting of the kingdom of God is taking place right
now. These are all activities involving work, hard labor. There
is no true sabbath (day of rest) yet. The work of the kingdom is
in progress now. After the harvest, comes the day of rest.
Deuteronomy 12:10 But when ye go over
Jordan, and dwell in the land which the LORD your God giveth you
to inherit, and when he giveth you rest
from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in
safety;
Revelation 14:13 And I heard a voice
from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die
in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they
may rest from their labours;
and their works do follow them.
Are you a member of
God's kingdom? How do you know?
Are you a weed or wheat?
A goat or a sheep?
Are you preaching the
true gospel of God's kingdom?
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