Jesus proclaimed the gospel of the kingdom of God and said that it would be proclaimed among all nations, and then the end would come.

Paul spoke of a gospel that offered forgiveness for sins by faith in his death and resurrection.

Are these two gospels? Two different plans?

Of course not, but let’s take a moment to understand how they actually work together.

First, let’s start with the spiritual reality that surrounds us. Jesus spoke of two kingdoms: the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness.

And these kingdoms, of course, stand in stark opposition to one another because of the kings that rule over each of those kingdoms. Jesus is the king in the kingdom of God. Satan is the king in the kingdom of darkness.

When Jesus came to earth to offer himself as a sacrifice for our sins, what was he doing? What was it that changed as he did that?

Jesus was offering his blood as payment for the sins that had been committed by each of us. It was a type of ransom payment, a redemption, to allow us to leave the kingdom of darkness to come to the kingdom of God.

So as we place our faith in Christ’s sacrifice, we are moving from one kingdom to the other, because of Christ’s blood. Because of the payment that he made for us.

So, as Paul reiterated to the Ephesian church, Christ allowed us to pass from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light (the kingdom of God):

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.

Ephesians 5:8

Paul proclaimed a gospel of Christ that offered forgiveness for sins, but he was not proclaiming a different gospel. No, instead, he was primarily talking about the payment that Christ made for each of us with his blood.

Jesus, on the other hand, spoke of the fact that he himself is the king. He is the one who rules over the kingdom of God. He is ruling today, and he will continue to rule forever while the kingdom of darkness will one day, finally, be destroyed forever.

So Paul is actually explaining the reality to the Ephesians that, yes, there is light and there is darkness, but he is referring to the same kingdoms of which Jesus had spoken. He is encouraging the Ephesians to live for the king. It is not enough to simply be saved from the kingdom of darkness. Instead, we must give ourselves and live for the king in the light.

This must be what we offer as we respond to Christ’s precious gift. He gave his blood to pay for us to be ransomed from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God. We give him our gratitude, our love, our entire lives.

I love how the elders, the creatures in heaven, and all of the people that had been saved from every tribe, tongue, and nation sing about this reality in heaven, as recorded in Revelation 5:

And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. And they sang a new song, saying:

“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased for God
persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth.”

Revelation 5:8-10

They all sing of the fact that the Lamb, Christ himself, purchased people from all over the world to make them a kingdom, his kingdom, the kingdom of God. Those people will be the priests and serve the Lord in that kingdom. They are, in fact, singing about what Christ has done for each of us who believe!

That is the kingdom that we live in, even today. Yes, we also are a part of our earthly kingdoms, the nations where we live. However, there is a true and larger reality that we are living within even today…and within which we will live forever. Jesus purchased us to come out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of light. Let us live completely and wholly for him, in this greater reality, starting today.