The Kingdom of God
Up to now, we have studied God’s mission, those people that he is trying to reach, and the reason that he is doing this. Now, we want to shift gears to look at the Kingdom that God has created, and is continuing to develop, in this process.
Before we start to think about the Kingdom of God, let’s start with some simpler ideas to help us understand a little better…
What is a kingdom?
Question: What is a kingdom? What do you need to have if you have a kingdom?
As you answer this question, explain it as simply as you can, as if you were trying to explain these ideas to a child.
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In a kingdom, you need to have a king and you need to have a territory and / or the people who will be subject to the king.
Question: How does a kingdom operate? Who makes the decisions, and who must obey those decisions?
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In a kingdom, the king is the person who decides what he wants to happen and the subjects must obey what the king says that they must do.
What is the Kingdom of God?
Now that we have discussed a kingdom in general, let’s talk about the Kingdom of God.
Question: Who is the king in the Kingdom of God?
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Jesus is the king in the Kingdom of God. Jesus said that God the Father gave him authority over heaven and earth, so he has become the king over all things:
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Matthew 28:18
Question: Why does Jesus spend so much time talking about the Kingdom of God?
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God had always intended for the people of Israel to have him as their king. He didn’t intend for the Israelites to have their own king, but he allowed it when the Israelites rejected him as their king. For more on this, read 1 Samuel 8:4-9.
Jesus now comes as an Israelite and shows himself to the world to be the Messiah and the Son of God by his words and his miracles. Jesus claims to be the king, just as God had intended.
However, his kingdom was not an earthly kingdom. His kingdom is much larger as he would reign over all of heaven and earth. He wants his people to come to him, to allow him to save them from their sins, but also to submit to him and his word, serving him for his glory.
Read Matthew 4:12-25
Question: Who may enter the Kingdom of God? And what is the first step to enter the Kingdom?
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Jesus came initially preaching to the Jews. However, make sure and check closely what verses 15 and 16 say:
“Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”
Matthew 4:15-16
This prophecy is saying that the Gentiles ALSO have seen a great light. The time for the fulfillment of the blessing of Abraham has come. God blessed Abraham so that all nations on the earth would be blessed, and that is now coming true in Jesus. Jesus’s kingly rule is over all people, not only the Jews but the Gentiles as well.
The first thing that Jesus says that everyone must do is to repent. They must turn away from their sins and leave their old lives behind. If we want to enter the Kingdom of God, we must first repent of our sins.
Question: What kingdom stands in opposition to the Kingdom of God? In what ways must we be careful to participate in the Kingdom of God and not the opposing kingdom?
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The kingdom of the world stands in opposition to the Kingdom of God and Satan is the ruler of the kingdom of the world. He is crafty and is very good at deceiving people.
His deceptions may be in temptation to sins that are very obvious and go against God’s explicit commandments. However, we may also find ourselves caught up in the kingdom of the world in other ways. For example, how often do we look for solutions in politics instead of in God’s sovereignty over all things?
This is the same type of confusion that happened with the Israelites. Instead of accepting God as their king, they wanted their own king like the other nations. Instead of expecting a heavenly king that would save them from their sins, they looked for a Messiah that would lead them out of their political bondage to the Roman empire.
Question: Where are we in the timeline of God’s kingdom?
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From the time that Jesus was resurrected from the dead, and then shortly after when the Holy Spirit was released to those who believe, the age of the church began. During this time, we are experiencing the Kingdom of God even now, submitting to Jesus our King and asking for God’s Kingdom to come and his will to be done here on earth just as it is being done already in heaven.
At this point, we are awaiting the return of our king, King Jesus. From that point, he will reign in-person as the king over the entire earth, taking his rightful place as the King of kings.
What does this mean for me?
As subjects to King Jesus, what does this mean for me? Of course, we know that Jesus said that if we love him, we will obey him. But do we have a role to play in our time between now and when Jesus returns?
Read Matthew 24:14
Question: What does Jesus’s statement here suggest our role to be during this time before he returns?
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Jesus is telling the disciples what will happen just before he will return. He tells of many difficult things that will take place.
But he also says that the Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached to all nations. This word “nations” means every group of people. Not just each political nation. Political nations change routinely over the course of history, but the groups of people largely continue on, even when borders are redrawn or the rulers change.
Who will be the ones to preach to all of the nations? We will! We are the ones that Jesus has given the responsibility to preach the gospel of the Kingdom. Therefore, we have an important role to play during this time while we wait for Jesus to return. And that is, to take this gospel of the Kingdom of God to all groups of people on the earth.
Question: What does this mean for me? What does this teach me about my part in God’s plan?