Usually, whenever the subject of Kingdom of God is broached, it gives an inherent impression that it is the eternal ruling of Jesus after His second coming and our lives in heaven thereafter. This perception by default is imprinted in our thoughts. Of late, the other dimension that the ‘Kingdom of God’ has taken is that, it is our ruling this earth with all the might, power and authority of God, our claiming the Eden we lost or our success and prosperity as Christians in this world. We understand that a Christian is not living the life of the Kingdom unless he/ she has dominion in every aspect of his/ her life, resulting in a pain-free and self-willed life. We never bother to meditate or understand the Kingdom of God beyond this, as we often think that the ‘Kingdom of God’ is too mysterious to bother with and it is not important to understand it to live the Christian life. Unfortunately, with this attitude we have completely ignored the truth about Jesus’s coming to this world and the good news He preached, which is the very essence of Christianity. We have deceived ourselves by calling ourselves ‘Christians’ without living the Christian life at all. We have assumed according to our will and comfort that we lost the dominion and hence we need to claim it back. This is why it is imperative to first know what the ‘Kingdom of God’ is.
In the scripture, we find Jesus often mentioning that the ‘Kingdom of God’ is the gospel that He came to preach. We often associate the gospel to the four books written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. We assume that these four as ‘books’ constitute the gospel. But ‘gospel’ means “good news”; good news of the Kingdom of God. This good news that Jesus preached is what the four disciples have recorded which is referred as ‘gospel’.
In all the gospels apart from Matthew, we find the phrase used as ‘Kingdom of God’. Matthew refers as ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ but both have to be considered synonymous.
GOOD NEWS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD
Luke 12:32 “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
Let us try to approach this from a practical point of view. What would we call as the kingdom of any king? What would we define it as? A kingdom is simply an area or territory that is ruled and influenced by a king who exercises his authority, power, dominion and control over it. So Kingdom of God is nothing but the area of influence, dominion, and authority of the King Jesus.
When Jesus started His ministry the first teaching He began with is:
Mark 1:15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel.”
The Jews were waiting for the Kingdom of Israel to be restored. When Jesus said that “the time is fulfilled now”, it is very clear that what they had been waiting for was accomplished. He communicates that the time of waiting is over because the Kingdom of God is at hand (present tense). At hand means ‘near’ which could denote proximity by space or time. Here, Jesus refers to the space because He, the King was visibly present and therefore He said that the Kingdom of God is at hand. He then calls for repentance and trust in this good news. So, in this verse Jesus is making it very clear that He, the Messiah is among the people, therefore the Kingdom of God has arrived and accomplished the promise to Israel which can be inherited through repentance and trusting in this good news.
Philippians 2:10,11 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
We inherit or become a part of the Kingdom of God when we truly in our hearts recognize and acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ (King) and Lord. This means that we agree to surrender our kingdoms, will, ways etc. in exchange for His’. But it is not as easy as we have written to come into this abandonment, because we are very much used to living our lives by our own terms and comfort. In other words, we have built our own kingdoms for ourselves and have embraced idols that serve in our kingdoms. We never realize that we cannot be in the Kingdom of God unless our kingdoms and idols are completely destroyed. We want Jesus for what He can do for us, and we want ourselves for the comfort and control we can wield over our lives. It is never half way with Jesus. It is always all or nothing.
HINDRANCE TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD
We are normally experts in drawing blueprints for our life and planning and charting the course it has to take. We meticulously calculate and determine what is good and what is avoidable in order to lead a comfortable and secured life in this world. We act as control freaks because we trust our judgments and capacities that it will ensure a peaceful life. In this bridled race we run, we live a shallow Christian life where the role of Jesus as master, owner and King is completely lost. We have built a kingdom for ourselves, founded on the knowledge of good and evil and built with bricks of lust, desires, wants, comfort and worldly motivations. We are the kings of our own kingdoms and we operate these kingdoms with our will, ways, knowledge, strength and self-made ideas of peace and joy (money, job, marriage, reputation, appreciation etc.). We basically trust ourselves and the security of our kingdoms. The role that Jesus often plays is reduced to that of an idol serving in our kingdoms. Instead of considering Him as our absolute sovereign and ruler, worthy of all respect and fear, we treat Him like a ‘genie in a bottle’ that is subject to our rubbing through our prayers and willing to satisfy all our wishes to lead us on the path to unquestionable happiness. Jesus is the genie who is obligated to heed our prayers and wishes and accomplish them for us in the smoothest way possible so that our strategies can succeed and our kingdoms can be established. Jesus is our way and the coin we move in the kingdom to attain our goals, aspirations, desires and the plans that we approve of. In such blithe ignorance to the truth about God’s Kingdom and His Kingship and with complete lack of reverence, we constantly approach Jesus absolutely unaware that we have become an abomination and are vile in His presence. This self-made and self-functioning kingdom is the first enemy to God and His Kingdom. In addition, we have other idols that we preserve and depend upon for our kingdoms’ welfare as follows:
1. Our convictions and traditions
Mark 7:9 He said to them, "All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition."
Though we call ourselves as Christians, we often neglect the ways of God, because the traditions, culture and beliefs that our families have followed for generations that are in tune with the respective country, community or caste we are from, form a very vital part of our existence in the community. Our social and family life often revolve around traditions and cultural practices than the commandment of God because we are born into and raised in it. Without our own knowledge, we confirm to the practices of the society, country and culture. Even if at times they may be uncomfortable, in order to have a smooth sailing and avoid frictions in the family and society, we compromise. Never do we think that this ingrained way of our life is against the very principle of the Kingdom of God. For example, we set an age limit for our children to be married or we follow a pattern in expecting settlement in their lives and set timelines with regard to education, job or marriage. We are so concerned with marriage and our own checklists for a successful one, that we do not care to think if God’s principle of marriage is actually being fulfilled through the particular union.
2. Our religious beliefs
Matthew 5:20 "For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."
When we read about Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, from the scripture in John chapter 3, we see that He comes by night to Jesus to avoid being caught by other Pharisees. Most importantly, when Jesus is trying to teach him about the Kingdom of God and being born from above, it is impossible for Nicodemus to assimilate it because he has his preconceived notions about the scripture, which he is unwilling to give up though he desires to learn from Jesus. This resistance from Nicodemus eventually leads Jesus to rebuke him for his lack of trust in Him and unwillingness to be exposed to the light. We are religiously taught that unless we make efforts at all times through prayer, fasting, Bible reading, tithing, controlling lust, avoiding sin etc. we can never enter into the Kingdom of God. As long as we do not realize that we have meaningless religious behavior as short cuts to enter the Kingdom of God and that we need to forego them to inherit His righteousness, we can never come to His light. This is the righteousness of the Pharisees whom Jesus rebuked and disliked the most and the only ones whom He ever labeled as ‘vipers’ and ‘serpents’. He even went on to say that the Pharisees were the ones who were hindering others from entering the Kingdom of God through their religious teachings. Then how can we, holding the same religiousness of the Pharisees, ever enter the Kingdom of God? We need to surrender our self-efforts and righteousness and imbibe from Him His righteousness without which we have no place in His Kingdom.
Matthew 21:31,32 “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him.”
Jesus cannot get more plain-speaking than this. He is very directly explaining that those who trust their own righteousness to get them to the Kingdom of God miserably fail, but those who trust and put on Jesus the Christ so that His righteousness supersedes all their misdeeds and covers all their sins will be the first to enter His Kingdom. As long as our self-efforts and church attested self-righteousness do not cease, He can never be our King and therefore we can never be partakers of His Kingdom. Harlots and tax collectors were considered the worst group of sinners in the time of Jesus and they make it to heaven ahead of the Pharisees and the religious because they do not have any righteousness to hold on to. Abandoning ourselves comes easy when we stop judging ourselves as ‘holy’ and stop trusting our moral and ethical values as justifiable.
3. Our families and relatives
Matthew 10:37 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.”
Family is a gift given by God Himself. It is a very essential part of who we are. But often we forget that it is a gift and rather consider it as our right! Therefore, we end up investing our very souls into it and making it our idol. We often love our family to the extent that Jesus Himself takes the second place. Often, He becomes a servant who is used to ensure the wellbeing of our family. We love the gift more than God who gave it in the first place. This misplaced love and idolatry will never allow us to be a part of His Kingdom.
4. Money and Power
Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
The importance we associate money with, often indicates how little we trust God. We believe that money is the most essential commodity to live in this world and forget that Jesus said that without Him we can do nothing. Many times we try to access money in the name of God. We conceal our love for money by justifying we need to serve Him with our money as if He were short of cash!! We saw already in the previous chapter, how He does not require anything from us to build His Kingdom.
HOW CAN WE ENTER THE KINGDOM OF GOD?
Luke 7:2-10 And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving, “for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.” Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick.
The centurion was a Roman, a pagan. He was not a church going, praising, anointed and tongues speaking excellent Christian, well versed with the scriptures. But he was aware of who Jesus was. The first step to the Kingdom of God is to realize who Jesus is, what His capacity as a King means in our lives and the real impact of the Messiah as our foundation. Jesus the Christ is the light. Unless we come to the light we are in darkness. In other words, we are outside His Kingdom. Coming to the light simply means to recognize Jesus as our Lord and King and surrender to His authority and might.
KINGDOM OF JESUS THE CHRIST
Though the Israelites expected a very physical and rigid kingdom to deliver them and restore peace through the Messiah, Jesus was very clear and often kept emphasizing that His Kingdom was not going to be a kingdom of this world as per the misunderstood expectations of Israel.
John 18:36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”
The Kingdom of Jesus the Christ is of a different realm. His Kingdom is not physical, visible or tangible but it will be in us. We do not see it with physical eyes as an obvious presence or rule, because it is a spiritual Kingdom; a spiritual influence that nevertheless has tremendous impact, dominion and rule over us and all the circumstances of our lives. The life of the King Jesus in us, controlling and influencing our lives is the Kingdom of God within us. This is the underlying implication of the prayer Jesus makes, “Your Kingdom come.”
Luke 17:20,21 Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ for indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”
John 14:16-18 “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever - the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”
Romans 8:9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.
Therefore, Jesus the Lord and King through His Holy Spirit, ruling and influencing our lives and destiny is the ‘Kingdom of God’. Now going back to the beginning of this chapter, we hope you understand when we mentioned that it is not everlasting life in paradise or our dominion on this earth and claiming back Eden. If we focus on gaining back the dominion and control over our lives and the earth, then we are claiming something different from Jesus’s definition of Kingdom of God. This is just what the Israelites expected and failed terribly at inheriting. We need to first of all understand that our kingdom is not from this world and does not work as per the system of this world. We will not inherit His life by simply praying for the Holy Spirit. Unless we surrender ourselves as a whole to Jesus the Christ, the exchange of our sinful nature of feeding from the tree of knowledge of good and evil for His life will not be possible and by no means can He dwell in us and His Kingdom be ours.
Therefore, the good news of the Kingdom of God that Jesus preached, or in other words, the whole purpose of Jesus coming into this world, was to redeem us from sin and place in us, through His blood shed on the cross, His eternal life i.e., the indwelling of Jesus the King himself. Through this, we can become God’s sons and daughters and members of His Kingdom. No wonder did He invariably end up preaching only this truth through different means and Satan through His deception blinded us to it completely.
2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? Unless indeed you are disqualified.
We guess by now it is explicit what we need to examine and test ourselves for. It is nothing but constantly surrendering ourselves to Jesus the Christ, His life, blood, Kingship and Lordship. If we choose not to, then as Paul says we consider ourselves already disqualified for the Kingdom of God.