photo credit: Matt. 4:17, Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.
The entire New Testament speaks of and introduces the kingdom of God. John the Baptist announced the gospel saying, Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens is near! When the Lord Jesus preached, He always spoke of the kingdom of God.
Before the New Testament, the kingdom of God on earth was one people, the people of Israel, where God could rule and be expressed. However, Israel failed God, so God Himself became a man in the person of the Lord Jesus, and He came to sow Himself as the seed of the kingdom into the soil of the hearts of men.
Through death, the human shell of Christ was broken and the divine life within was released, and in resurrection millions were regenerated for the kingdom of God.
The church life today is the kingdom of God in reality – it’s not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17). Hallelujah for the kingdom of God, which will consummate in the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and the new earth for eternity!
May we be those who are in the reality of the kingdom today in the church life, allowing God to rule and reign in our entire inward being and among us, so that we may be in the manifestation of the kingdom in the millennium age and enjoy its full consummation in the New Jerusalem!
Ten Aspects of the Kingdom of God as Seen in the New Testament
There are many aspects of the kingdom of God, but recently we enjoyed ten of the foremost aspects of the kingdom of God as revealed in the New Testament and brought to light through the ministry of the age.
1. The kingdom of God is a divine sphere for God to work out His plan; it is a realm where God can exercise His authority to accomplish what He intends (Matt. 6:10). The kingdom of God is a realm where God does what He desires. This is the church, where God does what He intends. Have you ever asked the Lord, Lord, what do You intend concerning me? What is in Your heart concerning me? and then simply tell Him, Lord, I agree with You – even if You don’t tell me what it is, I still want to agree! The Lord desires such a realm in us and among us, where He can rule, reign, and do whatever He wants!
2. The kingdom of God is the ruling, the reigning, of God with all its blessing and enjoyment (Matt. 6:33; Luke 12:32; Col. 1:13). Because of the fall of man, we are born in sin, far away from God, ruled by human government. But when we are regenerated and brought into the church life we begin a journey back to God – not only being ruled by the human government but by the our conscience enlightened by God, and eventually we are being brought under the direct rule of God.
May we not be content with only having a clear conscience and being under the rule of the conscience, but may we go on to be under God’s direct rule, caring for what He wants, allowing Him to regulate our mind, our thinking, our desires, etc. What a blessing and what an enjoyment to be here, in the kingdom of the Son of God’s love, being ruled by love and light! Don’t believe the enemy’s lie that God’s kingdom is a fearful place: the kingdom of God is the sweetest realm imaginable!
3. As God incarnate, the Lord Jesus came to establish the kingdom of God, to establish a realm in which God can carry out His purpose through the exercise of His authority (John 1:1, 14; 3:3, 5; 18:36). Though man fell, the Son of God came to preach the gospel of the kingdom and establish the kingdom of God on earth. He Himself is the kingdom of God, and He came to establish God’s kingdom on earth, so that God would have a realm in which He can carry out His purpose through the exercise of His authority.
4. The New Testament preaches the gospel in the way of the kingdom; the gospel is for the kingdom, and the gospel is proclaimed so that rebellious sinners might be saved, qualified, and equipped to enter into the kingdom (Mark 1:14-15; Matt. 4:17; Acts 8:12). Hallelujah, rebellious sinners all over the earth can be saved! When we hear the gospel and repent, we repent for the kingdom of God.
When we preach the gospel, we do so to further the kingdom of God. Rebellious sinners in all the countries in Europe, North and South America, Asia, Africa, Antarctica, and all the islands in the ocean can be saved by God, qualified by Him, and equipped by Him to enter into the kingdom of God!
5. The kingdom of God is the Lord Jesus as the seed of life sown into His believers and developing into a realm over which God can rule as His kingdom in His divine life (Luke 17:20-21; Mark 4:3, 26). Christ sowed Himself as a seed into our spirit, and daily we are learning to cooperate with the seed of the kingdom so that He may spread into our mind, emotion, and will. This seed will develop into a realm inside of us where God can rule.
Those who live in this realm of the kingdom of God are the happiest people – they have joy in the Holy Spirit! The self kills your enjoyment, your relationships, your prayer, your joy, etc, and has so many hidden issues, but the divine seed with its life power can break through and bring love, kindness, tenderness, sweetness, etc. Let the seed grow in you!
6. The kingdom of God is the shining of the reality of the Lord Jesus; to be under His shining is to be in the kingdom (Mark 9:1-2). We need to realize that the kingdom of God is the shining of the Lord in us – when we let Him shine over us and into us, it is so pleasant…the Sun of righteousness with healing in His wings shines on us, God rules in us, He cleanses our conscience, helps us to exercise our emotions, and brings us face to face with Him in the Holy of Holies!
How long have we all been cheated by the enemy to believe something else concerning God’s kingdom! Now we see: when we live before Christ’s face, His light and glory in us and through us will shine!
7. The kingdom of God is a realm not only of the divine dominion but also of the divine species, in which are all the divine things (John 3:3, 5). To be in the kingdom of man you need to have the life of man; to be in the kingdom of God you need to have the life of God. The kingdom of God is composed of all those who are born of God (John 1:12-13) and have the life and nature of God, being the species of God.
For this to be possible, God Himself became a man, entering the human species, He died for our redemption, and He released the divine life so that many men would be made God in the divine species (but not in the Godhead). Now in the kingdom of God, we are in the realm of the divine species, and daily we grow in the divine life, becoming more and more like God!
8. The kingdom is the church life today; thus, to practice the church life is to practice the kingdom (Rom. 14:17; Rev. 1:5-6, 9). God has made us a kingdom – the church life today is the kingdom of God! The Apostle John wrote this as a brother, a companion in the tribulation, endurance, and kingdom in Jesus. Hallelujah, in the church life we have the kingdom of God in reality today!
9. Those who always put God’s kingdom before them — that which touches God’s will and His enemy — are the most useful workers in the hands of God (Matt. 6:33; 7:21; 25:21, 23; Col. 4:11). The most useful workers in God’s hands are those who always put the kingdom before them. As Matt. 6:33 tells us, we need to seek FIRST the kingdom of God. What do we seek first? Is it the kingdom? We shouldn’t merely passively accept the kingdom of God but actively seek it in every way. Lord, may Your kingdom come!
10. The work of the church is to bring in the kingdom of God; the kingdom produces the church, the church brings in the kingdom, and the ultimate issue is the New Jerusalem—the kingdom of God in eternity in the new heaven and new earth (Matt. 13:43; 6:10; 12:22-28; Rev. 11:15; 12:10; 21:1-2, 10; 22:1, 5). Our work today as the church of God, the kingdom of God, is to seek to bring in the kingdom of God. We are not here on earth for this earth but for God’s kingdom. We bring in the kingdom of God by preaching the gospel of the kingdom and by living a proper church life in resurrection as the reality of the kingdom today.
This is our mission and commission: to bring in God’s kingdom! In this age we are in the reality of the kingdom of God, and we seek to enter into the manifestation of the kingdom in the next age. Eventually, in the new heaven and new earth the kingdom of God is consummated, and God is able to express in full His authority and His sovereignty, and He can execute His will and display His glory!
Lord Jesus, may Your kingdom come! Spread in us as the seed of the kingdom until You are on the throne in our being. Lord, shine in us as the Sun of righteousness with healing in Your wings, bringing in God’s kingdom and rule in every part of our being. May Your kingdom come in our being and in the church life. Make us the kingdom of God in reality, where You can do whatever You desire and fulfill Your purpose. Bring in Your kingdom on the earth today!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration (besides the Word of God and my Christian experience): bro. Ron Kangas’ speaking in this message and portions from, Life-study of Genesis (msgs. 33-35), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on the Crystallization Study of Genesis (1), week / msg 12, A Seed of the Church Life and a Shadow of the Kingdom.
- Hymns on this topic:
# Jesus the kingdom has come into us, / Reigning and shining He’s all glorious, / Christ as the seed is the King who has come, / Into our spirit His kingdom He’s sown.
# Jesus Christ will get His kingdom / By growing in the normal way. / It’s not an instant transformation; / This growth goes on from day to day. / The seed of life is all-inclusive. / It’s got everything we’ll ever need; / Yes, our God’s eternal purpose / Is all within this precious seed.
# Seek ye first the kingdom of God / And His righteousness; / And all these things shall be added unto you. / Hallelu, Hallelujah!
