What is the kingdom of God?

When I became a Christian I was so green, I didn’t know anything about the Bible. I remember sitting in a Sunday School class and the teacher talking about sin. I was concerned so I asked, "What is sin?" and "How do you know when you’ve done that?" I’m sure he thought I was being difficult, but I really didn’t know! (And I don't remember getting an answer.) As I grew in the Lord I came across words like holiness, sanctification, righteousness, justice, and kingdom of God. I struggled with these concepts, and nobody really talked about any of them.

Somehow, I had come to understand kingdom as realm, that is, the area over which the king has control. So for me, the kingdom of God was territorial. And this was reinforced by the prayers I heard every time the offering was taken, “…use this offering to extend your kingdom. Amen.” Not only was I confused, I was wrong.

In June, I began teaching a Sunday School class on the Sermon on the Mount. In the introduction I talked about the kingdom of God and asked: Is there a difference between kingdom of heaven and kingdom of God? When is the kingdom? What is the kingdom? I followed this up with a series of posts dealing with these very questions. This is my third and final post: What is the kingdom?

The Bible has so much to say about this and this is such a fundamental part of the gospel - I can’t hope to cover it all. But understanding the kingdom will have a definite impact on our understanding of the Gospel and on our Christian life.

So, what is the kingdom of God? Simply put, it is the reign of God; the rule of God. When you read the Gospels, looking for the kingdom, you find that the evidence or proof  Jesus offers for the kingdom is his casting out of demons, But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. As he went on to explain, Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. The kingdom, the reign, of God has come and is the binding of Satan and the spoiling of his house – that is, people being set free!

There is so much to say about this but I only want to offer two passages of Scripture.

Luke 1:68-75
68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,  
69 And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;  
70 As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:  
71 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;  
72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;  
73 The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,  
74 That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,  
75 In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

The kingdom of God is the saving reign of God. Amen! We have reduced salvation to a decision that gets us enrolled in heaven and forgiveness of sins. That’s it for so many people – "My sins are forgiven and I’m going to heaven when I die." But look at salvation as it is described in the passage above. As you read it you realize that this is a summation of all the promises made by the prophets. All that the prophets spoke of: deliverance, salvation, rescue, restoration, is summed up in and fulfilled by Christ. The kingdom of God, the rule of God that sets you free from your enemies and restores you to Him, has come in Christ! Again I say, Amen!

Romans 14:17 
For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

Amen again! This is another passage that summarizes all the promises of the prophets.

And just a brief comment on these elements

    Righteousness – being right with God (justification) and right living
    Peace – peace with God, the peace of God, and peace among ourselves
    Joy – the joy of the Lord abounding in our hearts and in our assemblies

If my life does not look like Luke 1, I am not walking in the kingdom. I didn’t say I wasn’t saved, but I am saying that I don’t have what Jesus came to give. If my life and the church I attend is not marked by righteousness, peace and joy, then I/we need to deliberately and earnestly pray, Lord, thy kingdom come! Hey, if our evangelism is not marked by people being delivered from demons, captives set free, and people restored to God and their lives being full of righteousness, peace and joy, then as a church we need to pray, Lord, thy kingdom come! For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.

What is the kingdom of God? It is the reign of God that sets captives free and restores them to God. When people turn to the Lord and believe in the King they are delivered from the devil, from sin, from fear, from death, from unrighteousness and restored to God and to a life of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit!

Amen!

Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.

For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.