The Kingdom of God is the manifestation of God’s ruling presence. And it rests upon the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
The Kingdom of God produces the church . . . the community of the King. The church, in turn, submits to the sway or rule of the Kingdom. As it does, the church expresses, represents, and advances God’s Kingdom on the earth.
Properly conceived, the church is the community of believers who possess Divine life. This community joyfully enthrones Jesus Christ, expresses His sovereign rule in the world, and as a result, enjoys the blessings of the future age here-and-now (Romans 14:17; Hebrews 6:5).
According to the New Testament, the church is not a building. Neither is it a denomination, a religious service, nor a non-denominational organization. The church is a living organism. It is simply this: A community of people who possess the life of God’s Kingdom and are learning to express that life together.
Your New Testament contains the epic saga of the early church. That saga centers on how God the Father has made Jesus of Nazareth both Lord and King of the world.
According to the Gospels, the master thought of Jesus was the Kingdom of God which is “at hand.” The book of Acts continues this thought and tells the story of how the Kingdom made its introduction in Jerusalem and spread to Rome through the church — the community of the Kingdom.
The Kingdom of God is a dual reality. It is “already,” but it is “not yet.”
The Kingdom is present. At the same time, it is future.
The Kingdom is today; but it is also tomorrow.
In effect, the future age of the Kingdom is present on the earth even though it is a future reality. With the coming of Christ, the Kingdom that belongs to the future age has broken into this present age.
Consequently, those Christians who gather as a shared-life community under the Lordship of Christ are living in the presence of the future.
The Kingdom of God is also a mystery. It does not set out to destroy human authority in this age. Instead, the Kingdom dismantles the powers and principalities in the spiritual realm. Its enemy is the kingdom of darkness and “the ruler of this age” (see Ephesians 6).
Put another way, the Kingdom of God does not seek to change the political order of things by fleshly effort. It rather makes changes in the spiritual order, effecting the lives of men and women at a deeper level. Sometimes this work touches the political and social order, especially when the church prophetically speaks to the powers that be.
By and large, the Kingdom works quietly and secretly among men and women. It is not a forceful power that cannot be resisted. It does not take up the tools of Caesar nor does it sit at Caesar’s table. The Kingdom is rather like a man planting a seed. And its success depends on the type of soil in which it is planted.
Like a mustard seed, its growth is slow and imperceptible. Yet at a future day, the Kingdom will be manifested in great power and glory. The fact that the Kingdom is fulfilled today, yet is waiting to be consummated, is indeed a mystery.
In all of Paul’s letters, the theme of the Kingdom of God appears. However, Paul’s letters were primarily written to Gentile audiences. Thus he speaks more of the Lordship of Christ than he does the Kingdom of God.
For Paul, Jesus as Lord is a synonym for the Kingdom. In addition, terms such as “reigning,” “rule,” “majesty,” “Lord Jesus Christ,” “King of kings,” “Lord of lords,” “Christ the Head,” “the age to come” are all Paul’s shorthand ways of describing the Kingdom.
For a more detailed discussion of this subject, see:
I have bought many copies (and given them away ) of your amazing and refreshing books . I traveled to hear you speak in Newmarket Canada, and I follow as best I can by computer. But I have a Mac. Is there any chance Epic Jesus ( or your other audio podcasts ) will ever be on iTunes? Please! Ebooks For iPads?
I am sure there are others of us out there… But the revelations are so brilliant — thanks!
Sheila: Thanks for the kind words. All of my messages on the podcast are on iTunes. Go here: http://www.ptmin.org/audio-mp3s – it’s the first link.
Frank: So I listened to your podcast, and there is a big “Hallelujah!” in my spirit! We just need to take care of eating and drinking Jesus, and His life gets dispensed into us. Then we spontaneously express Him in our daily living. Amen! That’s better than a turkey asking “WWHD?” That was great.
“Lord, keep us eating and drinking you.”
I also think this point about the kingdom not being the result of political process is such a salvation for many well-intentioned Christians.
One analogy that has helped me with understanding the kingdom (because i find it hard to wrap my head around most of the time) goes like this: the verses in John 3 about the kingdom indicate that this kingdom, as opposed to most of the kingdoms we’re familiar with, is completely related to life.
In biology, the word kingdom is used to talk about organisms that have the same charicteristics. For example, the dog kingdom contains only animals that look and behave like dogs. There is no way to enter that kingdom except to be born into it, no matter how much you whisper. Likewise, the kingdom of God is totally a matter of life and can only be entered or be built by God’s life.
Clark: I really like this! Life is a subject that Jesus talked just as much about as He did the Kingdom. http://ptmin.podbean.com/2010/10/04/living-by-the-indwelling-life-of-christ/ Indeed, the two cannot be separated.
Great post Frank! I believe we in the church have the opportunity to live in the deposit of the Kingdom in this age, but the full manifestation will come when Jesus returns and ushers in the full manifestation of His rule. Until then, the frustration and longing-for-more is what He uses to drive us together and unto Him.
Also, I’m reminded of Jesus’ words in Mark 8; “beware the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod”. I’ve always taken this to mean “beware of the false leadership of the religous and political leaders”. We can live in and amoung these systems, but shouldn’t have any heart-strings tied to them.
good stuff. while i agree kingdom is like mustard seed in that it often grows slowly and out of sight… the expression of that is going to differ all over the world.
The kingdom can be preached and lived with great force… its just that the force need not be directed at overthrowing political powers but rather resisting them IF the situation warrants. eg early anabaptists and chinese housechurch.
The world too often takes notice for all the wrong reasons but there are some reasons worth outwardly challenging those who consider themselves rulers, be they religious or political.
When church and state mixes or the state is persecuting christians then living in the realm of the kingdom of God is very noticeable and can cause a huge stir.
To further the analogy, at some point that mustard seed grows into a very big tree which is noticeable… which is exactly what happened, from a few disciples to millions over past 2000 years.
I think today we are far removed from NT times. We label someone in the streets preaching as misguided, when truth is Jesus got out there in the markets amongst the people.
Thank God for many men and women who have given their lives and spoken for those who had no voice.
Frank,
Thanks for posting this. I’ve been wrestling with this issue for a while now. One of the most groundbreaking revelations that shed light on this issue of the Kingdom is when I began to identify Jesus as the new Israel, as opposed to the nation that currently goes by that name, and Christ as the Kingdom. When one takes this view, the mysteries of the Bible unfold in such a fresh new way that brings into view the Christ that is truly all in all.
I have one question. Where did the idea surface that we can apply the blessings and cursings of Deuteronomy to the United States? So many are warning of the Judgements to befall America if we do not turn with fasting and praying to turn this nation to God. I am at lose sometimes because so many people i respect and love in the Lord are in agreement with this way of thinking. I’m not ruling out the fact that I’m completely wrong either.
Otto: I’m not sure, but I would suspect that they view those texts as applying to God’s dealings with all nations. Namely, that sin will bring the demise of a nation and repentance can bring restoration. That would be my guess.
The first time I ever heard this my view of the Kindgdom was profoundly changed. I used to think that God was all about getting His politicians elected (usaully republicans lol) to “usher in” the Kingdom to come.
I also thought that we, as Christians, were responsible for keeping America a so-called “Christian Nation.”
It was very freeing and eye-opening when I first heard one of your messages about this.
Good ariticle Frank.
Beautiful! Thanks for sharing this brother.
simply a great post Frank…simply great! thank you!
I have been reading alot of T Austin-Sparks lately (thanx for the reference) and presently I am reading a work of his on the revelation of Jesus Christ. In it he writes extensively about Gods divine plan in the government of creation by Jesus through the Church. Your post drives some of the finer points home and makes me think of all the “old man” things that must be purged so that the new man rules all in all. Thanxs again.
“…the Kingdom of God does not seek to change the political order of things by fleshly effort. It rather makes changes in the spiritual order that affect the lives of men and women at a deeper level.”
Thank you for sharing this. I think it is a message that especially needs to be heard right now considering the recent election. There’s nothing wrong with voting, but I know several people who feel that it is a Christian’s duty to do so, and try to improve our political system…that it’s another way for us to advance the kingdom. But, as you said, the Kingdom is advanced in the spiritual realm. If anyone will examine history, they can see that whenever believers put significant focus on the political process, things get VERY messy.