THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST: KINGDOM OF GOD (1)

People will not say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ because God’s kingdom is within[a] you.”

Luke 17:21

What is the kingdom of God?

A kingdom is a place where a king rules. The kingdom of God is wherever God reigns over the lives of His subjects. The kingdom of God is not visible because God is not visible. It is a spiritual kingdom, not a visible one. Jesus Christ said, "The kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21).

Jesus gave us, in the Lord’s Prayer, a petition to God: "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" (Matt. 6:10). This prayer shows the priority Jesus gave to the kingdom of God. Can we not say that the kingdom of God will come on Earth when the will of God is as respected here as it is in heaven, when the visible world totally reflects the invisible world? I think we can. In the kingdom of God, everything is subject to God’s power. Instantly, with no question. In the visible world, there is resistance to God’s will.

In the kingdom of God is eternal. At the present time, it is an invisible kingdom here in our midst. Wherever there are those who honor Jesus Christ, the King, and wherever the Spirit of the King is, there is the kingdom of God.

God’s Sovereignty. FOUNDATIONS OF THE KINGDOM. The necessary beginning point in studying the theme of "the kingdom of God" is the Bible’s opening verse. Here we meet the Sovereign of all the Universe, whose realm, reign, and regency, are described at the outset.

1. His realm (or scope of His rule) is transcendent: that is, not only does it include the entire physical universe, but it exceeds it. He existed before all creation. He expands beyond it and by virtue of having begotten it. He encompasses all that it is.

2. His reign (or the power by which He rules) is exercised by His will, His word, and His works. By His own will He creatively decides and designs; by His own word He speaks creation into being; and by His own works, His Spirit displays His unlimited power.

3. His regency (for authority to rule) is in His preexistence and holiness. He is there before creation “in the beginning.” Thus, as its Creator, He deserves to be its Potentate. His benevolent intent in creating things “good” reveals His holy nature (that is, complete and perfect), and thus His moral right to be creation’s King. All kingdom power and authority flow from Him.