Kingdom of God Today

     Jesus never defined the Kingdom of God during His earthly ministry. The Jewish community understood the concept of the Kingdom from the Old Testament history of Israel, therefore, it was a commonly understood concept in His day. Still, He elaborated the first century understanding and explained it to include much more than anyone had ever thought. This chapter is therefore dedicated to exploring the full meaning of the Kingdom of God then and now.

       Let us begin with a look at a natural and then the spiritual Kingdom of God. In order to have a Kingdom, you must have:

Natural Kingdom           Spiritual Kingdom     

Ÿ    A King                    Jesus

Ÿ    A domain/realm       The church & the earth

Ÿ    A Constitution         The Bible

Ÿ     Laws                      The commandments

Ÿ    Kingdom Citizens    True believers

Ÿ    Kingdom Gov't        Elders in churches

Ÿ    An army                  Angels

Ÿ    Wealth                    Tithes and offerings

Ÿ     Ambassadors         Believers

Ÿ          

A.   DEFINITION:              

The Kingdom of God is not like a political kingdom because it is not of this world (Jn. 18:36).  Also, the Kingdom of God is not an earthly theocratic kingdom because it comes from heaven and not earth. Hence, the Kingdom of God is not democratic, nor a republic, nor a monarchy, oligarchy or dictatorship. In fact, the Kingdom of God is unlike any earthly kingdom at all, so that it why it is important to study the scriptures and understand what Jesus meant by the Kingdom.

Jesus never defined the Kingdom because everyone in His day knew what it meant; but 21 centuries later it is not so discernable for us. Instead, Jesus explained what it was like; He taught the principles of the Kingdom and then lived out those principles before His disciples. However, His disciples did not fully understand what Jesus meant by the word, so let us explore it in its biblical and historical context. 

The word, “Kingdom,” is the combination of two words for a “King” and his “Domain;” combining them meant the King’s Domain or realm over which he rules.  The Hebrew word most often used in the O.T. is “malkut” which means God’s rulership of Israel to rule, oversee, renew and restore her to the path of righteousness to reach the nations. In the Old Testament, Israel was geographically and strategically placed by God in Palestine because the world’s major trade routes went through there, so the nations literally were coming and going through Israel all the time, and as they stopped to trade, eat and rest, she was to evangelize them, thus spreading Judaism to the nations without ever leaving her land. This speaks volumes to us today that we do not necessarily have to leave our town, city or nation to be missionaries, but we have to evangelize and disciple those in our immediate sphere of influence, thus spreading the Gospel through those we lead to Christ as they go back to their cities, towns and nations, just like Israel.

The Greek word, “Basileia,” is used 160 times in New Testament and means dominion, realm, reign or primarily the exercise of kingly rule over the king’s people. Therefore, the two absolutely essential elements of the Kingdom of God are: (1) the King and (2) His domain. A true kingdom always includes the territory or the sphere over which the King rules or reigns.  The Kingdom of God is literally the reign or rule of God over His realm.  There cannot be a kingdom without a king nor can a king exist without a kingdom; the two are inseparable.  The king embodies all that the Kingdom represents. Plus, the Kingdom of God is universal and everlasting.  It has no beginning and no end according to scripture and supersedes every other kingdom, whether in heaven or on earth (Ps.143:10; Matt. 4:3, 17; 12:24-28; 10:7; 16:26; 26:29; Mk. 1:14-15; 9:1; 14: 28; Lk. 11:20; 9:2, 27; 22:16-18; Acts 1 :3).

Besides these first two elements of a true Kingdom, i.e., a king and his domain, a truly functional Kingdom also includes the following additional elements:

(3) Citizens of the Kingdom who are governed by the King and His laws;

(4) A Constitution for the Kingdom establishing the kingdom’s government;

(5) Governing laws or rules of the Kingdom which all citizens are to obey;

(6) And privileges, rewards, blessings and punishments for law abiders and law breakers;

(7) Kingly power and authority to execute the Constitution and Laws;

(8) A functioning government to carryout the kingdom laws and care for its citizens;

(9) A standing army to fight for protect the Kingdom and its citizens;

(10) Income for the Kingdom to carry out its functions.

     "Unless one is born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God." [John 3:3].

     We should be able to see the Kingdom of God at work all around us because only the Spirit of God can open our eyes to the work of God in people, communites, churches, and nations. For example, Christians leaders gathered together 40 days before Christmas 1989 in Romania to write a letter to the dictator, Ceausau, to give God's people freedom. After prayer, signing the letter and embracing one another with the words, "Either see you in jail or in heaven," they sent the letter to the dictator. 40 days later, he had been overthrown and exccuted, and the nation rejoiced in the overthrow of an evil man. Today, the Christians are changing Romania through the proclamatin and living out the principles of the Kingdom of God.