Chapter 8. 14
Kingdom of God
Has the Kingdom of God already come?
Is it something coming in the future?
Is it spiritual, physical or both?
First
Word
The main expectation of the
prophets of old was that the earth would be restored to the original
state of the Garden
of Eden without evil and
complete with joy,
peace and happiness.
You would think that because God created the earth, that the earth would
be His kingdom, but that’s not what the scripture says. The kingdoms of the earth were given to Satan in the very
beginning, and now although corrupted they are still his,[1] he
is the
prince of this world,[2] the god of this age,[3]
but he will be driven out;[4] he
will fall like lighting[5]
and his dominion will be destroyed, [6] but
there is also a Kingdom
of God.
Can the two kingdoms co-exist in the same place? Well, not physically.
The Kingdom of God
The term “Kingdom of God” appears only in the New
Testament, but similar expressions are found in the Old Testament referring to God,
who reigns over all the earth. The
prophets of old likewise saw God as the ruler of all nations. The terms the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven are
identically in meaning.[7] Heaven is a “circumlocution,” a way of referring to “God” without using His name
which was too holy to speak.
The parables show the characteristics of the Kingdom; only the good
there[8]
and priceless like a treasure.[9] In
the parables of Jesus you can see the implications of the Kingdom of God;
in the parable of the mustard seed[10] and
the yeast[11] in
the loaf of bread. His word is
inconspicuously planted and the results of its growth slowly begins to show. God’s kingdom slowly invades Satan’s
territory without bringing it to an end; YET.
The
kingdom of God was in some ways
already present in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus was giving clues,[12]
that when He was crucified and resurrected,[13]
He would usher in the Kingdom of
God and
some of them would get to see Him come into His Glory.[14]
The Spiritual Kingdom
The kingdom comes in two
stages: 1) The
birth of Jesus;[15]
The spiritual
invasion and 2) His
second coming; the physical rule.
Jesus hinted that the kingdom was already present among the believer
spiritually.[16]
It is presently expressed in the church and will not be perfectly
realized until the second coming
of Christ.[17]
Paul’s conversation speaks of a co-existence with evil[18] and
our righteous living within our community.[19] He goes on to address those who will NEVER see the kingdom.[20]
The Physical Kingdom
Flesh and blood cannot
inherit the kingdom of God,[21] man
has to become a whole new creation[22]
to receive the kingdom. Jesus told us to
pray for the kingdom of God to come.[23] In the end, God will bring the physical
kingdom[24] to
us and dwell with us,[25] and will gave a new glorified body[26]
and then Jesus will drink the “fourth cup” of the Passover meal with us.[27]
The
Take Away
The Kingdoms of
this world belongs to Satan
The Kingdom of God and
Kingdom of Heaven
are the same thing.
The Kingdom of God comes in two stages; the Spiritual and then the Physical
The Spiritual Kingdom began with the birth of Jesus.
The Physical
kingdom will be established with
the second coming of Christ.
We co-exist in Satan’s physical world as spiritual children of God.
Satan will be defeated with His kingdom on
earth being turned over to God.
Then the Kingdom of
Heaven will be ushered in.
We become new creations in Christ and enter into the new Physical Kingdom.
We will be in
the presence of Jesus and drink the fourth cup of
the Passover with Him.
[1] Luke 4:5-6 – Satan’s kingdom is the earth -- 1 Corenthians 2:8 – Satan, the ruler of this age didn’t know the plan
[2] John 14:30 – Satan is the prince of this world
[3] 2 Corenthians 4:4 – Satan is the god of this age
[4] John 12:31 – Satan will
be driven out of this world
[5] Luke 10:18 – Satan will
fall as fast as a lightning bolt
[6] 1 Corenthians 15:24-25 –
Satan’s evil dominion will be destroyed.-- Matthew 12:29 – Jesus will bind
Satan and carry us off
[7] Matthew 3:1-2 – John called it the kingdom
of heaven. -- Matthew 4:17 – Jesus also
called it the kingdom of heaven.
[8] Matthew 13:47-48 – The
kingdom will only have the good not the evil
[9] Matthew 13:44 – The
kingdom is like a hidden treasure -- Matthew 13:45-46 – The kingdom is like a
priceless pearl.
[10] Mark 4:30-32 - The kingdom
starts small like a mustard seed, but will grow very large.
[11] Matthew 13:33 – The
kingdom will finally permeate the world like yeast
[12] Matthew 17:1-2 – Peter, James and John saw Jesus transfigured - Matthew
24:32-34 – The kingdom is at the door and some saw Him. -- Acts 1:3 – After His resurrection He appeared for about 40 days
[13] 1 Corenthians 15:4-8 –
Many saw Him after the resurrection in His glory
[14] Matthew 16:28 – Some
would see Jesus coming into His kingdom -- Mark 9:1 – Some of the Disciples
would witness the coming of His Kingdom -- 1 Corenthians 15:4-8 – Many saw Him
after the resurrection in His glory
[15] Matthew 12:27-28 – Jesus is the kingdom of God
[16] John 18:36 – The kingdom
of God is not of this world -- Luke 17:20-21 – The kingdom of God is within
you.
[17] Luke 4:17-21 – Jesus read
the scroll and said “Today the scripture is fulfilled”
and he sat down to take questions
[18] 1 Corenthians 4:20 – The
Kingdom of God is alive now in power -- 1 John 5:19 – We presently CO-EXIST with evil in this world --
Matthew 5:20 – We are to CO-EXIST and
live in righteous
[19] Matthew 6:33 – Seek first
his kingdom and his righteousness -- Romans 14:17 – The kingdom of God is
living in righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit
[20] 1 Corenthians 6:9 – Paul
speaks of the kingdom in the future tense where the wicked WILL NOT INHERIT
THE KINGDOM OF GOD
-- Galatians
5:21 – Some WILL NOT SEE THE KINGDOM now or in the future.
[21] 1 Corenthians 15:42-53 –
Flesh and blood cannot enter the kingdom
[22] 2 Corenthians 5:17 – If
you are a Believer you are a new creation, the
old has gone, the new has come
[23] Revelation 11:15 – The kingdom of this world becomes the kingdom of God
[24] Revelation 12:10 – The
kingdom has come
[25] Matthew 6:9-10 – The
physical kingdom of God has not come yet -- Revelation 21:1-3 – We will dwell
with God in the few Jerusalem on earth -- John 14:1-3 – We will be where Jesus
is.
[26] Philippians 3:20-21 – We will be citizens of heaven with a new glorified body
like Jesus
[27] Luke 22:18 – Jesus will
drink the forth cup with us in His Kingdom
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