The kingdom of God

The Kingdom of God is, without question, one of most important themes in all of scripture. It is referred to in different ways over 100 times in the Bible, with the overwhelming majority of these references being found in the New Testament. The kingdom of God served as the understood framework for the entire Old Testament, and it was the central theme of the teachings of Jesus. Ultimately the kingdom of God is not just a concept referred to in scripture, it is an integral part of the fabric of reality itself, and as such, it deserves our full attention and complete understanding.

The essence of the kingdom of God is the dominion, or sovereign authority of God. The word “kingdom” itself is an abbreviation of the words “king” and “domain.” The word “domain” is defined as “the territory over which dominion is exercised.” A kingdom then, is the realm over which a king rules, or exercises his authority. If a king is able to exercise sovereign, or absolute authority in his kingdom, it means that he is able to enforce that his will is done in his kingdom. Its not surprising then, that Webster’s dictionary actually defines the kingdom of God as, “the realm in which God’s will is fulfilled.”

Of the relatively few references to the kingdom of God in the Old Testament, more than a dozen of them are in the book of Daniel. Most of these verses stress one particular aspect of the Kingdom of God – its eternal nature. Consider the following verses:

“His an everlasting kingdom and His dominion is from generation to generation.” (Daniel 4:3 & 34)

“His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:14)

“His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.” (Daniel 7:27)

Even though there are very few direct references to the kingdom of God in the Old Testament, there are a number of Old Testament passages refer to God as a king. Psalm 47:2 refers to God as “The Great King,” Psalm 47:7 refers to him as the “King over all the earth” and Psalm 95:3 declares that he is “A great king above all God’s.” Psalm 55:19 refers to him as “The one who sits enthroned from of old,” Psalm 113:5 says he is “enthroned on high” and Psalm 123:1 says he is “enthroned in the heavens!” In these verses and others the Bible makes it clear that God sits “enthroned in the heavens” and reigns “on high” as The Great King.” But the Bible also makes it clear that God gave mankind dominion over the earth. Consider the following verses:

Genesis 1:26

“Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them have dominion over… all the earth.”

Ps 115:16

“The heavens are the heavens of the Lord, but the earth He has given to the sons of men.”

Unfortunately, through Adam and Eve’s sin in the Garden of Eden, mankind gave their dominion over the earth into the hands of Satan. This is seen clearly in Luke 4:6 where, after showing Jesus all the kingdoms of the world, the devil said, "I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish." From that time on Satan has been enforcing his will on earth, as “the ruler of the world” (John 14:30, 16:11). The fall of man and subsequent rise of Satan as “the ruler of this world” directly affected the execution of God’s will on earth, where God was now, in a sense, on the outside looking in. Jesus referred to this in Luke 9:58, when He said, “The son of man has no where to lay his head.” The head is a symbol of authority and Jesus was saying that, at that time, he still did not have a rightful place of authority over the earth, because it was still in the hand of Satan.

But all of that changed at the cross. In John 12:31, referring to the cross, Jesus said, “Now the ruler of the world will be cast out.” At the same time Jesus “took away the sin of the world,” on the cross, he also took back the authority over the earth that God had given to man. Satan was “cast out” from his position as “ruler of the world” and now all authority has been given to Jesus, “in heaven and on earth.” (Matthew 28:18) But the fact that Jesus has all authority in heaven and on the earth does not mean that God’s kingdom has completely come or that his will is perfectly done on earth.

Ever since Jesus defeated Satan at the cross, he is pictured as being “seated at the right hand of the father” from which place we are told that he “must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.” (Colossians 3:1, 1 Corinthians 15:25) From his position of authority over the earth, Jesus is already ruling as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. But you don’t have to look too far in the world to see that there are still many, including Satan, who are saying, “We do not want this man to reign over us.” (Luke 19:14) As a result of this, there are still many situations in which the will of God is not being done, and therefore his kingdom has not yet come on earth.

“Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth…”

In what is commonly known as “the Lord’s prayer,” Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” In essence, praying for God’s kingdom to come and his will to be done are two different ways of saying the same thing, because when God’s will is done in any given situation, then his kingdom has come in that situation.

Webster’s dictionary defines God’s kingdom as “the realm in which God’s will is done.” But the Kingdom of God refers to more than just the realm in which God’s will is done; it also refers to nature of the king’s will. In Romans 14:17 Paul said that, at its essence, the Kingdom of God is not a matter of merely following a list of rules such as eating and drinking certain foods, its about “righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Righteousness, peace and joy are all fruits of God’s Spirit – the natural result of God’s Spirit taking up residence in the heart of man. It is easy to see then, how these and all of the other fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23) are essential characteristics of God’s kingdom.

In many Old and New Testament promises, the Kingdom of God is characterized by righteousness, peace and joy. In Isaiah the Kingdom of God is pictured as a place where “the spirit is poured out from on high,” where “justice and righteousness dwell,” where “the work of righteousness will be peace” and there is “everlasting joy” upon every head. (Isaiah 32:15-17, 35:10) Whenever the Holy Spirit brings the righteousness, peace and joy of the Lord into a situation then we can accurately say that kingdom of God, to some degree, has “come” in that situation.

1^st Corinthians 4:20 says, “The kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.” Ultimately the kingdom of God “comes” whenever God, through the power of the Holy Spirit brings His will to pass in the earth. This point is illustrated powerfully in the ministry of Jesus. From the time he began his ministry, the gospel that Jesus preached revolved around the fact that kingdom of God was “at hand.” (Mark 1:14-15) We are told that he went throughout all Galilee, “preaching the gospel of the kingdom,” both “in word” – in the form of many parables about the kingdom of God, as well as “in deed” – which included “casting out demons,” and “healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.” (Matthew. 4:23, 9:35, Mark 1:39)

Every time he fed the hungry, healed the sick, or set the captives free, Jesus was showing the will of God to mankind, and thereby establishing the kingdom of God. We see this clearly in Matthew 12:28, where Jesus told the Pharisees, “If I cast out demons by the spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.” The power of God’s spirit working through Jesus to heal the sick and deliver the oppressed was clear proof that God’s kingdom had come because his will was done in those situations.

Another great example of this is the story of Jesus raising a widow’s son from the dead (Luke 7:12-15). If we just read through this story quickly, it is easy to see the miracle of raising the dead, but miss something even greater. Revelation 21:4 gives us this brief description of how the will of God is actually done in heaven: “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.” When Jesus encountered the widow in this story, he encountered death, mourning, crying and pain. Verse 13 tells us that Jesus felt compassion for the woman and told her not to weep. He then proceeded to raise her son from the dead and give him back to his mother. In this powerful encounter, Jesus caused The Kingdom of God to “come” and His will to be done “on earth as it is in heaven.”

In Matthew 16:19 Jesus told Peter and the rest of his disciples that he would give them the “keys of the kingdom.” Throughout the scriptures, keys speak figuratively of authority (Isaiah 22:22, Rev. 1:18). Through the name of Jesus, and the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus would authorize and empower his disciples to cause the kingdom of God to come and his will to be done in the earth just as he did in his ministry. When Jesus sent the disciples out to preach, he instructed them to preach the same “gospel of the kingdom” that he preached. And in Matthew 24:14 Jesus said that it was this same “gospel of the kingdom” that would be preached “in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations.” The fact is, it is this same “gospel of the kingdom” that we are called to preach through the great commission. (Mark 16:15)

Ultimately the “gospel of the kingdom” is the good news that we can enjoy the blessings of God’s kingdom to some degree even now – “on earth as in heaven.” In Daniel 2:44 we are told that in the last days, “The God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.” In verse 35 of this same chapter, the kingdom of God is pictured as a stone that would strike and crush all other kingdoms on earth, and then become “a great mountain and fill the whole earth.”

The clear message of these verses is that the kingdom of God will one day be established in all of the earth “as it is in heaven.” But the equally clear implication of these verses is that, at the moment, the kingdom of God has not yet fully “come” in all the earth. Even though Jesus preached gospel of the kingdom “in word and deed” and even though he is even now seated “at the right hand of majesty on high” and has been given all authority in heaven and on earth, the kingdom of God has not yet been fully established in the earth. To understand why this is, we need to understand how the Kingdom of God works.

“The kingdom is like…”

The majority of the parables that Jesus spoke were designed to explain the kingdom of God. Through the parables of Jesus we learn the characteristics of God’s kingdom, what it looks like, and the manner in which it is expressed in the earth. In many of his parables, Jesus made direct parallels between the kingdom of God and natural events, giving us simple but powerful insight into the Kingdom of God.

In Matthew 13:44 the kingdom of God is pictured as a “treasure hidden in a field” that was so valuable that a man was willing to sell all he had to buy it. Through this illustration Jesus was indicating the incomparable worth of the Kingdom. In Matthew 22:2-4 the kingdom of God is compared to a great feast, which a man gave for his son. Through this illustration Jesus conveyed the abundance, readiness, and availability of God’s kingdom, telling all who would listen, “Everything is ready, come to the feast!” But perhaps the most insightful of all these comparisons is the one in which Jesus compared the kingdom of God to the working of a seed. Consider the following verses:

Mark 4:27-29

“The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows -- how, he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself; first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

Mark 4:30-32

And He said, "How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smaller than all the seeds that are upon the soil, yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches; so that the birds of the air can nest under its branches.”

This principle of the kingdom working “like a seed” forms the basis of our understanding of the Kingdom of God. All of the other insights we are given about the kingdom of God in the teachings of Jesus rest upon this principle. (See Mark 4:13) Because of this, it is obviously very important that we understand this principle, and why Jesus used this comparison to serve as the foundation for our understanding about the kingdom of God.

The essence of this principle of the kingdom of God being “like a seed” rests upon the fact that seeds, by the design of God, contain all the information necessary to grow from tiny little things into amazingly complex multi-celled, fruit-bearing organisms. Take for example an apple seed that will produce an apple tree bearing hundreds of apples each season – with each apple containing many more seeds capable of reproducing in the same way. Or consider human seed that is designed to produce another human being, made in the image of God and also capable of reproducing in the same way.

This same thing is true of the kingdom of God. In Isaiah 55:11 God said that the His word would not return to him empty, but will accomplish what He desires, which he went on to say was joy, peace and righteousness for his people. In the same way, when Jesus spoke “The word of the kingdom” (Matthew 13:19, Luke 9:11) he was really casting seeds – the seeds of God’s word (Luke 8:11). Hebrews 4:12 tells us that God’s Word is alive. Every one of the many promises of God’s Word are living things – designed to grow in the heart of man and become a great tree producing the fruit of God’s righteousness, peace and joy in our lives personally as believers, and eventually in all the earth as well.

In Ezekiel 17:22-23 God used this same illustration to refer to Israel, declaring, “I will plant it; it will produce branches and bear fruit and become a splendid cedar. Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find shelter in the shade of its branches.” Notice, both in this passage and in the parables of Jesus, that God’s kingdom is not only designed to produce “the fruit of the kingdom” but also to become a place of refuge and shelter for many who will come to “nest in it” the way birds do in large, full trees.

From these passages it is easy to see, as I said earlier, that the kingdom of God will one day be established as completely “on earth as it is in heaven.” But it is also clear from these passages that the way God’s kingdom “comes” is through a process similar to the growth of a seed – “first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear.” (Mark 4:28) This explains why we do not yet see The kingdom of God fully “come” in all the earth. Jesus has already been given all authority in heaven and on earth, and is even now reigning as King at the right hand of God, but the seeds of God’s Kingdom must continue to grow in the soil of human hearts, first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear.

Regardless of how many years it takes, or how much opposition it encounters, God's Word is designed to bring forth fruit in the form of whatever He says or promises. The reason this is so important to us is because His kingdom is still working this way. In Genesis 8:22, God said, “As long as the earth remains, seed time and harvest shall not cease.” And in Luke 8: 11 Jesus said, “The seed is the word of God.” In other words, as long as this earth is still here, the “seed” of God’s word must be planted and grow in the soil of human hearts in order to bring forth the fruit of God’s kingdom in the earth. (Luke 8:8,15)

Inside out

In Luke 17:20-21 Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come. Jesus responded by telling them, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” This passage gives us great insight into the nature of the kingdom of God. The Pharisees believed that the kingdom of God would “come” through a strict outward observance of the law of Moses. They also believed that the kingdom of God would “appear at once” (Luke 19:11) and be very visible to all when it “came.” Jesus was instructing them that neither one of these beliefs was accurate.

Jesus was making the same point that Paul would later make in Romans 14:17 – that the essence of the kingdom of God is not to be found in outward, tangible things such as the “eating and drinking” of certain foods, but in inward, intangible things such as “righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Consequently, the manner in which God’s kingdom “comes” is not through mere outward enforcement of God’s laws, but rather through an inner change of the heart of man. Unlike a worldly kingdom, which must rely on outward, physical force to insure that the will of the king is done among the citizens of his kingdom, the kingdom of God works from the inside out through the Holy Spirit in man. Once the Holy Spirit comes to dwell inside the heart of man, he begins to bring forth “The fruit of the spirit,” which will then be manifest outwardly in many ways in the form of “the fruit of the kingdom.”

This process of the “seed” of God’s word and His Spirit working within the heart of man to bring forth “the fruit of the kingdom” (Matt. 21:43) is the method by which the kingdom of God “comes” in the earth. Jesus did not say that the kingdom of God would never be visible outwardly, but only that it would not “come” through outward means. Just like the fruit of a tree is not visible in its infancy, the kingdom of God is not yet as visible in the earth as it one day will be when its fruit is seen on every branch, and “all the birds of the heavens come to nest in its boughs, and under its branches all the beasts of the field give birth, and all great nations live under its shade.” (Ezekiel 31:6)

Conclusion

The kingdom of God can truly be said to have “come” in many ways in the lives of people all over the world. Every time a man or woman is set free from bondage to some evil spirit, sin or habit, and begins to walk in righteousness the kingdom of God has come. Every time God’s words of life bring forth the fruit of understanding in a human soul, the kingdom of God has come. Every time the torment, anguish and confusion of the enemy are replaced by “the peace that passes all understanding” the kingdom of God has come. Every time the downcast and depressed are filled with the “joy of the Lord” the kingdom of God has come. Every time the sick, diseased and dying are healed by the power of God, the kingdom of God has come. Every time corrupt, abusive political regimes are replaced with those seeking justice and the welfare of the people, the kingdom of God has come.

The Bible makes it very clear that everyone who has put their faith in Jesus has been transferred out of the kingdom of darkness, and into the Kingdom of God. (Col. 1:12) But unfortunately there are still many hearts into which the “seed” or “word of the kingdom” has not yet fallen – or has fallen, but because of the “cares of this world, the pleasures of this life, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things” it has not brought any fruit to maturity. (Mark 4:19, Luke 8:14) As a result of this, we all encounter situations daily in which the kingdom of God has not yet “come” and His will is not yet done “on earth as it is in heaven.”

The fact is that there is a very real enemy who, even though he has been “cast out” from his position as “ruler of this world” is still doing everything within his power to prevent the kingdom of God from being established in the earth. Our task, as Christians, is to be the “good soil” Jesus spoke of in Luke 8:15 that will “bring forth the fruit of the kingdom” – both in our own lives as we “inherit the promises” of God by faith (Heb. 6:12), and in the lives of others as we preach the “gospel of the kingdom.” Jesus said in Matthew 11:12 that “the Kingdom of God is entered by force, and the forceful lay hold of it.” If we truly desire to see the kingdom of God come in the earth, then we need to be those “forceful” ones Jesus Spoke of who “lay hold of” the Kingdom by faith – those who, in the power of the Spirit and the name of Jesus, go forth and exercise the authority of our king in the earth!

I hope this article has brought you understanding and encouraged you to be about the business of bringing forth the fruit of the kingdom in the earth today. I also hope that you are inspired to “Seek the kingdom” and to pray all the more fervently each day,

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven…”