The kingdom of heaven
Query for the Month
of December 2002
Next up-date: January 1st 2003 (God willing).
Previous "Queries" are available. Click here to access.
Some perpetual questions ....
Is there really an immortal soul?
What does it mean to "be led by the Spirit"?
Do you know the difference
between the "love" that is of Christianity
and the "love" that is of the world? Click here to find out!
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It's called "Light on the
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Query:
Luke 17:
20 And when He was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God comes not with observation: 21 neither shall they say, ‘Lo here!’ or, ‘lo there!’ for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”
Just what is the kingdom of God?
Answer:
What is the kingdom of God? It is both a physical and a spiritual thing. It is something we can enter and be seen to be in, and yet it is something that we have within us.
Mark 12:
32 And the scribe said to Him, "Well, Master, You have said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but He: 33 and to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."
34
And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God [but not in it!]." And no man after that dared ask Him any question.And, as we saw in the query,
Luke 17:
21
Neither shall they say, "Lo here [it is]!" or, "Lo there [it is]!" for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you [you will know when you have it].It was John the Baptist who first came announcing the imminent setting up of the physical kingdom. Matthew 3:2. By this he meant that the King of that kingdom would soon be among them.
Jesus also, after John was killed, said that the establishment of the kingdom was near, thinking of the new variation of it which men call Christianity. Matthew 4:17. Then, in the sermon on the mount He set out the character of those who were in His kingdom.
Matthew 5:
1
And seeing the multitudes, He went up into a mountain: and when He was set, His disciples came to Him: 2 and He opened His mouth, and taught them, saying,3
Blessed [happy] are the poor [humble] in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.4
Blessed are they that mourn [for their sins]: for they shall be comforted.5
Blessed [happy] are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.6
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.7
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy [as you sow….].8
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.9
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.10
Blessed [happy] are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.After that He told us the standard, or law, of it.
Matthew 5:
1
9 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he [or she] shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say to you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.The spiritual kingdom is not made up those who just profess to be Christians (for Satan loves to work on, and with those), but of people who actually do the works through the power of the Son of God.
Matthew 7:
21
Not every one that says to Me, "LORD, LORD," shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of My Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day [of judgment, Matthew 25], "LORD, LORD, have we not prophesied in Your name? And in Your name have cast out devils? And in Your name done many wonderful works?"23
And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from Me, you that work iniquity [it was Satan who answered their prayers and gave them the wonderful works!]24
Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man . . .In fact, not all who are in the physical church of God will actually be there at the end, and the number will be made up of many who come from other lands and faiths.
Matthew 8:
10
When Jesus heard it [the Roman’s declaration], He marvelled, and said to them that followed, "Verily I say to you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel [the centurion did not demand a sign or evidence]. 11 And I say to you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.12
But [some of] the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."When Jesus sent the disciples on trial missionary runs He told them also to mention the nearness of the kingdom while they worked, so it has always been in the fore-front of the Christian doctrines.
Matthew 10:
6
But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you go, preach, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand [you can join it]." 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely you have received, freely give.Then He informed us that the kingdom has actually been with us from the days of the Garden of Eden and that since John the Baptist’s call the desire to enter it had really taken on momentum.
Matthew 11:
11
Verily I say to you, Among them that are born of women there has not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he [his life work was cut short].12
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent [enthusiasts] take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied [about the kingdom] until John.One day Jesus explained that the ways of the kingdom are not understood by certain people because they don’t want to be led by the Spirit but prefer to suit themselves. However, only those who humble themselves to God’s guidance can ever find out the truths of the God’s word.
Mark 10:
1
5 Verily I say to you, Whoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.Matthew 13:
10
And the disciples came, and said to Him, "Why speak You to them in parables?" 11 He answered and said to them, "Because it is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 12 For whosoever has [and wants more], to him shall be given [more], and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever has not [that desire], from him shall be taken away even that he has."13
"Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing [physically] see not [spiritually]; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which says, ‘By hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing you shall see, and shall not perceive:15 for this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them’."In the thirteenth chapter of Matthew He gave eight examples of how the kingdom was also contained in a physical thing here on earth that angels and men could look at (it’s often called the church of God.) In the parable of the wheat and tares He explained that Satan even plants his own followers in that system to cause great confusion in the minds of the onlookers. So we have, in that chapter:
1
. Only about one quarter of those who hear the word of God calling them into His kingdom will actually last the distance!2
. Both God and Satan plant their followers in the church.3
. The kingdom starts small but will grow big.4
. It is the effect of a special infilling that makes it grow.5
. The kingdom is like treasure lying around for any to find and claim.6
. It’s worth giving up all that we have to obtain it.7
. The "net" of the kingdom collects both good and bad (not just Satan’s tares, but also those who profess righteousness without doing it), and that the judgment at the end of time will sort it out.8
. If we understand these principles then we can expect the old truths to shine more fully, and many new truths (unexplained mysteries) will become clear.One of these is mentioned in the following verses.
Matthew 16:
1
5 He said to them, "But whom say you that I am?" 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."1
7 And Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona [son of Jonah]: for flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but My Father which is in heaven."1
8 "And I say also to you, That you are Peter [a small pebble], and upon this rock [the understanding that He really is the Son of God] I will build My church [My kingdom]; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give to you [the people of the kingdom] the keys of the kingdom of heaven [the understanding of the Bible]: and whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven [for you will judge as I do]."One day some of the Pharisees came to Jesus demanding "when the kingdom of God should come." More than three years had passed since John the Baptist had given the message that like a trumpet call had sounded through the land, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matthew 3:2. And as yet these Pharisees saw no indication of the establishment of the kingdom. Many of those who rejected John, and at every step had opposed Jesus, were insinuating that His mission had failed.
Jesus answered, "Neither shall they say, ‘Lo here!’ or, ‘Lo there!’ for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." Luke 17:21. He was saying, "The kingdom of God begins in the heart. Look not here or there for manifestations of earthly power to mark its coming."
"The days will come," He said, turning to His disciples, "when you shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and you shall not see it." Because it is not attended by worldly pomp, you are in danger of failing to discern the glory of My mission. You do not realise how great is your present privilege in having among you, though veiled in humanity, Him who is the life and the light of men. The days will come when you will look back with longing upon the opportunities you now enjoy to walk and talk with the Son of God.
Because of their selfishness and earthliness, even the disciples of Jesus could not comprehend the spiritual glory which He sought to reveal to them. It was not until after Christ's ascension to His Father, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the believers, that the disciples fully appreciated the Saviour's character and mission. After they had received the baptism of the Spirit, they began to realise that they had been in the very presence of the LORD of glory.
As the sayings of Christ were brought to their remembrance, their minds were opened to comprehend the prophecies, and to understand the miracles which He had wrought. The wonders of His life passed before them, and they were as men awakened from a dream. They realised that "the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." John 1:14. Christ had actually come from God to a sinful world to save the fallen sons and daughters of Adam. The disciples now seemed, to themselves, of much less importance than before they realised this. They never wearied of rehearsing His words and works. His lessons, which they had but dimly understood, now came to them as a fresh revelation. The Scriptures became to them a new book.
As the disciples searched the prophecies that testified of Christ, they were brought into fellowship with the Deity, and in this way they learned of Him who had ascended to heaven to complete the work He had begun on earth. They recognised the fact that in Him dwelt knowledge which no human being, unaided by divine agency, could comprehend. They needed the help of Him whom kings, prophets, and righteous men had foretold. With amazement they read and reread the prophetic outlines of His character and work. How dimly had they comprehended the prophetic scriptures! How slow they had been in taking in the great truths which testified of Christ!
Looking upon Him in His humiliation, as He walked a man among men, they had not understood the mystery of His incarnation, the dual character of His nature. Their eyes were held by their earthliness, so that they did not fully recognise divinity in humanity. But after they were illuminated by the Holy Spirit, how they longed to see Him again, and to place themselves at His feet! How they wished that they might come to Him, and have Him explain the scriptures which they could not comprehend! How attentively would they listen to His words! What had Christ meant when He said, "I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now"? John 16:12. How eager they were to know it all! They grieved that their faith had been so feeble, that their ideas had been so wide of the mark, that they had so failed of comprehending the reality.
They often repeated His conversations, and said, "Why did we allow earthly considerations and the opposition of priests and rabbis to confuse our senses, so that we did not comprehend that a greater than Moses was among us, that One wiser than Solomon was instructing us? How dull were our ears! How feeble was our understanding!"
Thomas would not believe until he had thrust his finger into the wound made by the Roman soldiers. Peter had denied Him in His humiliation and rejection. These painful remembrances came before them in distinct lines. They had been with Him, but they had not known or appreciated Him. But how these things now stirred their hearts as they recognised their unbelief!
As priests and rulers combined against them, and they were brought before councils and thrust into prison, the followers of Christ rejoiced "that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name." Acts 5:41. They rejoiced to prove, before men and angels, that they recognised the glory of Christ, and chose to follow Him at the loss of all things.
It is as true now as in apostolic days, that without the illumination of the divine Spirit, humanity cannot discern the glory of Christ.
The truth and the work of God are unappreciated by a world-loving and compromising Christianity. Not in the ways of ease, of earthly honour or worldly conformity, are the followers of the Master found. They are far in advance, in the paths of toil, and humiliation, and reproach, in the front of the battle "against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." Ephesians 6:12, R. V. And now, as in Christ's day, they are misunderstood and reproached and oppressed by the priests and Pharisees of their time.
"The kingdom of God comes not with outward show," Jesus said. The gospel of the grace of God, with its spirit of self-abnegation, can never be in harmony with the spirit of the world. The two principles are antagonistic. "The natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness to him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." 1 Corinthians 2:14.
But today in the religious world there are multitudes who, as they believe, are working for the establishment of the kingdom of Christ as an earthly and temporal dominion. They desire to make our LORD the ruler of the kingdoms of this world, the ruler in its courts and camps, its legislative halls, its palaces and market places. They expect Him to rule through legal enactments, enforced by human authority. Since Christ is not now here in person, they themselves will undertake to act in His stead, to execute the laws of His kingdom.
The establishment of such a kingdom is what the Jews desired in the days of Christ. They would have received Jesus, had He been willing to establish a temporal dominion, to enforce what they regarded as the laws of God, and to make them the expositors of His will and the agents of His authority. But He said, "My kingdom is not of this world." John 18:36. He would not accept the earthly throne.
The government under which Jesus lived was corrupt and oppressive; on every hand were crying abuses, - extortion, intolerance, and grinding cruelty. Yet the Saviour attempted no civil reforms. He attacked no national abuses, nor condemned the national enemies. He did not interfere with the authority or administration of those in power. He who was our example kept aloof from earthly governments. Not because He was indifferent to the woes of men, but because the remedy did not lie in merely human and external measures. To be efficient, the cure must reach men individually, and must regenerate the heart.
Not by the decisions of courts or councils or legislative assemblies, not by the patronage of worldly great men, is the kingdom of Christ established, but by the implanting of Christ's nature in humanity through the work of the Holy Spirit. "As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." John 1:12-13.
Here is the only power that can work the uplifting of mankind. And the human agency for the accomplishment of this work is the teaching and practising of the word of God.
When the apostle Paul began his ministry in Corinth, that populous, wealthy, and wicked city, polluted by the nameless vices of heathenism, he said, "I determined not to know
[make known] anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." 1 Corinthians 2:2. Writing afterward to some of those who had been corrupted by the foulest sins, he could say, "But you are washed, but you are sanctified, but you are justified in the name of the LORD Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." "I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 6:11; 1:4.Now, as in Christ's day, the work of God's kingdom lies not with those who are clamouring for recognition and support by earthly rulers and human laws, but with those who are declaring to the people in His name those spiritual truths that will work in the receivers the experience of Paul: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me." Galatians 2:20. Then they will labour as did Paul for the benefit of men.
He said, "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be you reconciled to God
[and enter His kingdom]." 2 Corinthians 5:20.Conclusion:
The kingdom of God on earth is first a spiritual state of being which is experienced by those who have been changed by the Son of God from being "sinners" to being "Christians". This situation cannot be seen by other humans, although it is often guessed at.
Then the kingdom is also a physical organisation (sometimes called the church) which can be recognised because of its distinctive doctrines and rituals, but as it includes many who are "tares" or "professors" it is often considered to be a false system (as the Pharisees saw Christ and His followers).
Only those who have the kingdom in their hearts can really appreciate the value of the external one as a nursery for newly born-again Christians.
Who wants to add (or subtract!) from these thoughts? I won't argue as I have stated, but I will publish your Scriptures so that we may review all the words of God on the subject.
Next thought. To be discussed from January 1st 2003.
Matthew 15:
13 But He answered and said, "Every plant, which My heavenly Father has not planted, shall be rooted up. 14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch."
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