Kingdom Myth 6. The kingdom of God is “within you” as an individual, privatized reality.
Many years ago I went on a trip with an old ex-pastor and an acquaintance who happened to be a professional debater with a reputation of being devious. My acquaintance also happened to have attended Bible school (something I chose not to do).
All three of us were having lunch together and the old ex-pastor asked us, “In Luke 17:21, Jesus said that the kingdom of God is ‘within you’ in the King James Version. Do you think He meant ‘within you’ or ‘among you’?”
I answered, “I don’t think He meant ‘within you’ because Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees. And that would mean that Jesus was saying the kingdom was dwelling in the Pharisees, which cannot be the case.”
My acquaintance responded and said he disagreed. He boasted that he had written a paper for his Bible class on that passage, and the professor gave him an A on it.
Attempting to impress the old ex-pastor, my acquaintance tried to convince me of his viewpoint. Here’s how he proceeded.
He asked me, “Do you know the Greek word used in that passage?”
I answered, “I do not.”
He said, “The word is entos. Did you know that Luke 17:21 is not the only time the New Testament uses it, and it doesn’t mean ‘among’?”
He then concluded, “It means ‘within you.’”
The old ex-pastor was impressed. And my acquaintance sported a smirk on his face as if he’d won some battle.
But then I asked him, “You do realize that in order to properly understand a Greek word, one must also interpret it by the context in which it’s used. So tell me, since the Pharisees were hostile to Jesus Christ and His kingdom, how could Jesus say the kingdom of God resided within them, since a person cannot even see the kingdom unless they are born from above?”
He responded, “I don’t know.”
I then asked him to send me a copy of his A-graded paper when he got home (which he never did).
I don’t interpret Luke 17:21 to mean the kingdom of God is “within” or “among” you. A better interpretation of that text is that the kingdom of God is “in the midst of” you. And that’s precisely what entos humōn means—“in the midst of you.”
Most first-rate New Testament scholars interpret the text this way.* A few interpret it to mean “within your reach” or “within your grasp,” which gives the same basic meaning. Jesus Christ was standing in the midst of the Pharisees, so the kingdom was available to them, within their reach.
But “within you” simply doesn’t fit the context nor the rest of the New Testament.
Jesus was in effect saying to the Pharisees, “You no longer have to wait for the kingdom of God to come. The kingdom is standing right here in your midst! I’m within your reach! I am the incarnation of God’s kingdom.”
Luke 17:21 is one of many texts that show us that the kingdom of God is embodied in Christ. Wherever Jesus is acting in the capacity of His lordship, there too is the kingdom.
Consequently, the kingdom of God is not an internal, private thing. It’s a public, social reality that shapes our entire lives, both inside and out. It is the manifestation of God’s ruling presence. The Christ who lives inside you wishes to be manifested with the other citizens of His kingdom.
ENDNOTE
George Eldon Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993). Ladd wrote, “While Mark 10:15 makes it clear that the Kingdom is to be received in the inner person, it is unlikely that Jesus would have said to the Pharisees, ‘the Kingdom of God is within you.’ The translation ‘in your midst,’ in Jesus’ person, best fits the total context of his teaching” (65). “In the midst of you” is also the translation used in the ESV, NASB, NIV, RSV, BSB, BLB, The Net Bible, and The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1992), vol. 4, 59.
According to A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (BDAG), 3rd ed., 2000, the semantic range of entos includes, “in,” “within,” “in the midst,” and “among” (340-341).
The Pharisees were expecting the kingdom to come with apocalyptic signs; they were using natural perception. But Jesus was saying, enigmatically, that the kingdom was already in their midst. They just didn’t discern it. Jesus was the kingdom embodied (Luke 17:20-21). Because the Pharisees weren’t born from above, they couldn’t “see” the kingdom, even though it was standing in their midst (John 3:3). In short, Jesus was pointing to the presence of the kingdom in this text, not its inwardness. The New Testament refers to people entering the kingdom, not the kingdom entering people.
Scot McKnight is dead-on when he wrote, “Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, ‘The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.’ Here the temptation is to reduce kingdom to an inner reality, and this focuses ‘in you’ as an inner, spiritual reality. The expression more properly means ‘in your midst’ (as in, I Jesus am here in your midst), but the reduction is often found.” Scot McKnight, “A Robust Kingdom,” Jesus Creed Blog, February 23, 2015.
Other scholars who believe Luke 7:21 should be translated “in the midst of you” are Craig Keener, Ben Witherington, Darrell Bock, Robert H. Stein, J.C. Ryle, Kenneth Wuest, and Marvin Vincent. Following C.H. Dodd, N.T. Wright supports the translation “within your grasp,” which carries the same idea. Tom Wright, Luke for Everyone (London: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004), 207. Luke Timothy Johnson, Joel B. Green, and Leon Morris support the translation, “among you,” which is the same concept as “in your midst,” though not as precise.
Click here for all the articles in the Kingdom of God Series
Dispelling Kingdom Myths: Part 5
Thanks Frank. WWJD only causes you to keep the wheels grinding on the status quo. Pressing into an ever present Kingdom causes a blind man to scream out for mercy until Jesus hears. (Jesus already heard before Bartimaeus shouted out.)
Jesus is the greatest Teacher, ever. He teaches us faith, which isn’t based on feelings or the flesh. Pressing in causes you to fight through a crowd to touch the hem of the Masters robe. Pressing in causes you to rip roof tiles off a house to get your sick friend to Jesus.
Frank, I am dismayed that the theological bias embedded in various translations actually impedes spiritual growth so that truth is hidden from the masses. Am I right to blame this mis-translation on our Reformation Fathers and if so, what do you think was their religious bias?
I don’t think anyone is to blame with this one. It’s more of a matter of translating “entos” in a highly literal way (inside/within you) without exploring the context, which better yields (in your midst). I just added an endnote to the post, citing other scholars. Check it out.
Thanks for the reply. As one of my teachers often said: Context is king!
I enjoyed this story. Thanks for the great teaching.
Great article Frank, well explained.
Thank you for the context break-down of this verse. Today our children and grandchildren are raised without the context of Christ’s Kingdom. Children are raised with a context of “born that way, and if this how God created me, why should I not live how I feel like?” How do we as belivers represent God’s kingdom better so they have the correct context to access? Suggestions please.
That’s a big question that touches many facets of life. Begin with the audio “A Clash Between Kingdoms,” which is part of the series (link at bottom of this post). I’d recommend the Master Class and the upcoming book that comes out next year. It covers the waterfront on your question.
We have a saying in Alabama, “You can take the boy out of Alabama but you can’t Alabama out of the boy.” In some personal, spiritual, eternally real way this is also true of this verse, simply because the one who created all things and in whom all things hold together lives in me and I in HIm. I’m not suggesting I agree with the Bible school show off. No, it wasn’t true of the Pharisees. But it is true of us believers. Thanks for your insights, Frank. They are consistently challenging and often fresh!
Yes, Jesus lives in us, but the kingdom is something we enter into, press into, etc. It’s not a privatized spiritual reality. See my last post in the series. The ekklesia isn’t inside the believer, for instance.
I’m glad I’ve written this. The need to rethink is greater than I thought. Thanks for the comment.
You are absolutely right on, Frank! The Kingdom is present wherever Jesus is because He’s King. And His rule is not geographically based but relationally based. So in your Scripture the Kingdom was available to the Pharisees because He was offering them and anyone a real relationship with Him that would affect every aspect of their lives
Great article Frank.
This is actually what I have been conversing us through, in our church community’s public gathering contexts, for the “Advent Season.” As we journey through the anticipation and expectation of waiting for a Messiah, we see that he brings his Kingdom and God’s presence “within our reach.”
I enjoyed this article, and I know George E. Ladd would be proud and in agreement.
I continue to find that the “both-and” realities of the Kingdom (here and now, now and to come) are still some of the most tense theology misunderstandings. Though, there are quite a few mainline friends of mine that obviously struggle to understand the “within your midst” part as well. I continue to encourage many neo-Charismatic movements are leaning to a “fully realized,” or even “over-realized” understanding of the Kingdom of God. I continue to find people unwilling to explore the misconceptions and even dangers of this style of thinking. These movements seemingly have a deep impression on many millennials and Generation X in my church community.
Thx. Btw/ I didn’t get that insight from Ladd (I have some disagreement with him on various aspects of the kingdom. In Part 5 of this series, I address one of them). However, Ladd is one of the NT scholars who believed the text could not be saying “within you.” And I agree. 🙂
This is such a good explanation of just what the kingdom truly is. Thank you! I’m studying the theme in the Gospels now, so very timely. However, SO many different viewpoints muddies up true understanding. Looking forward to Titan!