The Gospel of the Kingdom brings us into God’s Kingdom with His Ruling and Blessings

As believers in Christ, we are the Lord’s disciples who are learning from the Lord and from the pattern of the apostles to preach the gospel of the kingdom so that men would repent, be saved, and enter into the kingdom of God to be under God’s rule and enjoy all His riches.

We need to be unveiled from any religious concepts of the gospel, and we need to read the New Testament with a heart turned to the Lord to realize that the entire Bible is the gospel, and all the truths in the Bible are part of the gospel. In particular, we need to see that the gospel is the gospel of the kingdom of God.

When John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus came to minister, they both preached the gospel of the kingdom saying, Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near (Mark 1:14-15; Matt. 4:17).

We need to not only believe into the Lord but also be discipled by Him to preach the gospel of the kingdom so that rebellious sinners may repent, be regenerated, and come into the kingdom of God to be kingdom people enjoying the Lord and all His riches in God’s kingdom.

On the one hand our human life is inadequate, short, sinful, and fallen, so we need another life – the divine life of God, which is much stronger, higher, eternal, and full of riches.

On the other hand, humanity is fallen and is in direct rebellion against the authority of God, being instigated by Satan, God’s enemy, who is both outside of us and inside of us in our flesh; therefore, we need to preach the gospel of the kingdom so that rebellious sinners who put God’s authority aside and reject God’s rule would repent and be brought under the ruling of the heavenly authority so that they may become God’s kingdom. Amen!

How wonderful it is to be in the kingdom of God, under God’s pleasant and loving rule, enjoying all of God’s riches and His eternal divine life which are daily being dispensed into us!

The Kingdom of God is the Gospel; to Know the Gospel Requires that we Know the Kingdom

The gospel preached in today’s Christianity is low, diluted, and not up to God’s standard or according to how the Lord preached the gospel; the New Testament doesn’t say “repent to go to heaven and be saved from hell” but rather, “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near” (see Matt. 3:2; 4:17).

When Christians preach the gospel today they speak of heaven, hell, sin, eternal perdition, etc – all of which are real, but the gospel spoken of in the New Testament is the gospel of the kingdom. The gospel is for the kingdom, and the purpose of preaching the gospel is that men may enter into the kingdom of God.

God created us in His image and according to His likeness, and He put in us a spirit which corresponds to Him, can contact Him, and can receive Him; His intention in creating us was that we would receive God with His life and enter into the kingdom of God to express Him corporately as we are under His rule (Gen. 1:26).

But because of the fall of man, all men are now by default being born in the kingdom of Satan, having a sinful nature and being rebellious against God. Therefore, when the Lord Jesus as God incarnated came to earth, His main purpose was to bring the kingdom of God among men and in man, and the gospel He preached was the gospel of the kingdom.

Nicodemus, an elderly, moral, zealous, and religious man wanted to find out more teachings to enter into God’s kingdom, but the Lord clearly told him that no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born into this kingdom (John 3:3, 5). Our being regenerated with God’s life is for God’s kingdom.

We are saved, washed of our sins, reconciled to God, and regenerated with God’s life not merely to “go to heaven” but for us to enter into the kingdom of God, which is the church today (see Eph. 5:25, 23; Acts 20:28). The reality of the church is the kingdom; we were saved, washed, and regenerated for the kingdom of God.

In order for us to know the gospel, therefore, we need to know the kingdom of God, live in the kingdom of God, enjoy the riches of God’s life in His kingdom, and cooperate with the Lord to preach the gospel of the kingdom.

The gospel is for the kingdom, and the gospel is proclaimed so that rebellious sinners (such as we were once) might be saved, qualified, and equipped to enter into the kingdom of God (Mark 1:14-15; Matt. 4:17; Acts 8:12).

The gospel of the kingdom which we preach doesn’t include only forgiveness of sins (Luke 24:47) and the impartation of the divine life (John 20:31) but also the kingdom of the heavens with the power of the coming age (Heb. 6:5) to cast out demons and heal diseases (Isa. 35:5-6; Matt. 10:1).

May we be those who know the kingdom and preach the kingdom as the gospel so that men would be saved and enter into God’s kingdom, having received forgiveness of sins and the imparting of the divine life.

Lord Jesus, save us from preaching a low gospel; uplift our view of the gospel to see that the kingdom of God is the gospel! We want to know the kingdom, live in the kingdom of God, and enjoy the riches of God’s life in the kingdom so that we may preach the kingdom of God as the gospel for rebellious sinners to be saved, forgiven, and regenerated to enter into the kingdom of God! Lord, amen, enlarge Your kingdom today through us as we speak to others concerning the kingdom of God for their forgiveness of sins and imparting of life!

The Gospel of the Kingdom brings us into God’s Kingdom with His Ruling and Blessings

The New Testament mentions the gospel of life (John 3:16), the gospel of grace (Acts 20:24), and the gospel of salvation (Acts 4:12), but all these aspects of the gospel are for the kingdom of God; the kingdom is the center, the hub, and grace, life, and salvation are the “spokes” centered on the hub.

God loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son so that whoever believes into Him may have eternal life and enter into God’s kingdom to be under His ruling authority and participate in the blessings of the divine life.

God in Christ as the Spirit is reaching us through the gospel to become our enjoyment and satisfaction as grace, so that we may be kingdom people, citizens of the kingdom of God.

Through the gospel we receive God’s salvation from sin and Satan so that we may be transferred into the kingdom of God and enjoy the riches of God’s life as we live under the rule of God. The kingdom is the real gospel, and the kingdom is the inner content of the gospel.

If we want to know the gospel in a full way, we must realize that the kingdom is the all-inclusive gospel.

The gospel was planned, promised, and accomplished by God (Eph. 1:8-9; Acts 2:23; Rom. 1:2; 2 Cor. 5:21; Acts 3:15), and it is the power of God unto salvation to all believers (Rom. 1:16), that they may be reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:19) and regenerated by Him (1 Pet. 1:3) to be His children (John 1:12-13; Rom. 8:16) and enjoy all His riches and blessings as their inheritance (Eph. 1:14). Hence, it is the gospel of God. It brings the believers into the realm of the divine ruling that they may participate in the blessings of the divine life in the divine kingdom (1 Thes. 2:12). Hence, it is also the gospel of the kingdom of God. (Witness Lee, Life-study of Mark, p. 50)

When we preach the gospel of the kingdom, people are brought not only into God’s salvation but also into the kingdom of God; the emphasis of the gospel of the kingdom is on the heavenly ruling of God and the authority of the Lord (see Matt. 24:14; Acts 8:12).

Furthermore, the gospel of the kingdom brings us, the believers in Christ, into the realm of the divine ruling so that we may participate in the blessings of the divine life in the divine kingdom. God has called us through the gospel unto His own kingdom and glory so that we may walk in a manner worthy of God, worthy of His kingdom, to enjoy all the blessings of the divine life in the divine kingdom (see 1 Thes. 2:12).

Unless we are under the ruling of His throne, we are not in the reality of the kingdom; we may have morality, piety, and outward good things, but God wants to be the Lord and the king in us so that in everything we do we would receive His reigning, His ruling. It is then and only then that we can be persons living in the kingdom of God.

When we are in the kingdom of God, we enjoy all the blessings of the divine life.

O Lord, may we be brought fully into the realm of the divine ruling so that we may participate in the blessings of the divine life in the divine kingdom. Thank You for bringing us in an unshakable kingdom where we are under the heavenly ruling of God and the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ. We want to live in the kingdom of God and be those who preach the gospel of the kingdom so that rebellious sinners may be saved, qualified, and equipped to enter into the kingdom of God!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, bro. Minoru C’ sharing in the message for this week, and Life-study of Genesis, p. 471 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Gospel (2016 International Chinese-speaking Conference), week 1 / msg. 1, The Gospel of the Kingdom.
• All Bible verses are taken from, Holy Bible Recovery Version.
• Hymns on this topic:
  # Come let us speak till the kingdom of the Lord comes down. / Yes, let us speak till the kingdom of the Lord comes down. / Why hold your peace? / The Word release. / Let us speak until the kingdom of the Lord comes down. (Hymns #1294)
  # There’s living church in London / Who the gospel does proclaim, / To the hungry, poor, and weary, / Sick, imprisoned, and the lame. / Now this gospel of the kingdom / Shall be preached until the end; / Till the Lord who with the kingdom / Of the heavens does descend. (Hymns #1263)
  # By reigning in His kingdom / God worketh all His will, / And under His dominion / His purpose doth fulfill. / ’Tis only in God’s kingdom / His blessing we may know; / ’Tis from His throne almighty / The stream of life doth flow. (Hymns #941)