What is the Kingdom of God?

From the Old Testament to the New

The Old Testament ends on a note of expectation —the return of Elijah the prophet who would soften the hearts of the people to obey the Law of Moses in conformity with Israel’s calling as God’s holy nation (Mal. 4:4-6). However, four hundred long years pass before Israel hears any word from God. During this time, the Persians, the Greeks and the Romans all ruled over Israel in Palestine. The apocryphal books were written and the apocalyptic prophets preached. But no authentic prophet arose to bring a good word from God.

Finally, the deafening silence was shattered by the strong voice of John the Baptist — the promised forerunner of Messiah who was also the new Elijah (Matt. 3:3; 11:14; Mark 1:2-3; 9:13; Luke 3:4-6). John the [Southern?] Baptist made this startling, but exciting announcement: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 3:2)!

At long last, God was at work again! He was about to do something new! Indeed He was! What He was about to do was to fulfill the redemptive hope of the Old Testament through the inauguration of theKingdom of God in the person of His own virgin-born Son, Jesus Christ. The time had finally come. The offspring of the woman who would bring redemption to the earth was at hand. The covenants of promise were about to be fulfilled. God’s redeeming rule was about to break into the world! This is what the story of Jesus and the New Testament is all about! At the heart of this story is the concept of the Kingdom of God.

Views of the Kingdom

Bible scholars agree that “the Kingdom of God was the central message of Jesus.”[1] The Biblical evidence for this is quite clear. For example, the gospel of Mark introduces Jesus and His mission with these words: “And after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel’” (Mark 1:13-14). Matthew’s summary of Jesus’ ministry is similar: “And Jesus was going about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people” (Matt. 4:23). Luke chimes in on the same note with this comment: “But He [Jesus] said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose” (Luke 4:43). These three verses are unanimous: the Kingdom was at the heart of Jesus’ purpose on earth.

Unfortunately, however, scholarly accord ends here. There is little if any agreement about what the Kingdom is or how it should be defined. There is not much understanding about its identity among the rank and file in our churches either. Some believe that God’s Kingdom is the same as heaven. Catholics (and some Protestants) tend to equate it with the institutional church (so the phrase “Kingdom work” means “church work”). Pietists locate the Kingdom of God in the heart and connect it with the spiritual life. Liberal Christians associate God’s Kingdom with social reform (as in the social gospel). Others still believe that the Kingdom is still future and will be established for the Jews during the 1000 year reign of Jesus on the earth.

Obviously there is not much agreement or clarity these days about the Biblical concept of the Kingdom. In order to shed some light on this subject, let’s do our best to see how the Bible answers several important questions about the definition, timing, and nature of this crucial theme.

What is the Kingdom of God?

The Hebrew word for kingdom is malkut and its Greek counterpart is basileia. Both terms primarily mean “rule” or “reign.” Only secondarily do they denote a realm, sphere, or territory over which a rule or reign is exercised. Both terms have a dynamic or active meaning, and refer to the exercise of God’s power, dominion, or sovereignty.

This is clear in the Old Testament, particularly in the poetry of the Psalms where parallel lines clarify what the term “kingdom” means. For example, Psalm 22:28 says, “For the kingdom is the Lord’s, and Herules over all.” Similarly, Psalm 103:19 states, “The Lord has established His throne [kingdom] in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all.” Psalm 145:11 declares, “They shall speak of the glory of Thykingdom, and talk of Thy power.” Here kingdom is associated with the ideas of God’s rule, sovereignty, and power.

The New Testament term means the same thing. When we pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven (Matt. 6:10),” we are asking God to exert His authority in the world so that His purposes are achieved. In Jesus’ parable about “A certain nobleman who went to a distant country to receive a kingdom,” those over whom he was to rule said: “We do not want this man to reign over us” (Luke 19:12, 14). In Colossians 1:13, Paul teaches that redemption amounts to an exchange of rulers over our lives, stating that God has delivered us believers “from the authority of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.”

Thus, the NT nuance for kingdom in these verses connect it with the exertion of God’s will, the act of ruling or reigning, the exercise of authority.

So, then, from this brief study, we see that the expression “Kingdom of God” does not refer to heaven or the church or the heart or to moral reform or to a future realm. Rather it refers to the active, dynamic exercise of God’s rule, authority, dominion, and power in the world!

So when John the Baptist announced that the Kingdom of God was at hand, he meant that God’s rulewas just about to break into the world through the Messiah. When Jesus Christ Himself preached and proclaimed the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, He meant that in and by Himself, God was exercising His power and authority in a redemptive way against all the evil in the world!

In short, the Kingdom of God is the rule of God manifested in Christ to bring redemption to the earth. No wonder the Kingdom is the central theme of the New Testament!

The big “Kingdom” picture

This makes good sense when we step back and take a look at the big picture. As we have seen, God established His Kingdom at creation. He was the ruler over His world and the people He had made. But His Kingdom was attacked and overtaken by the authority of Satan when humanity fell into sin. Ever since, God has been at work to reassert His rightful rule over the earth and to take it and His people back from the powers of sin, death, and Satan. In fulfillment of the covenants of redemption established by God in the Old Testament, the decisive moment in this war of all wars took place when God’s Kingdom arrived in and through the person and work of Jesus Christ who entered into conflict with and defeated God’s enemies. Those who now submit to Christ’s redeeming rule through faith are restored to God and become new creatures in Him. They anticipate the completion of His redemptive work at His second advent when the whole creation will be restored as God’s Kingdom and made new.

So the scenario is this: God’s Kingdom rule was established at creation; It was attacked by Satan at the fall; now it is being restored on earth through the life and ministry of Jesus Christ who defeats Satan, death, and sin! No wonder He taught us to pray in this way: “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven!”

Now let us press on to learn more about the timing of God’s Kingdom.

When is the Kingdom of God?

Has God’s kingly rule and authority already come into the world? Or is it still future? Or is there some sense in which it is both present and future? The teaching of the New Testament is clear: The Kingdom is both “already” but “not yet.” It has come, and yet it is coming. It is both present and future. Let’s examine the Biblical evidence for this point of view.

The presence of the Kingdom of God. Several verses in the New Testament teach that God’s rule hasbroken into human history to deliver men and women from the power of sin, death, and Satan. Matthew 12:28-29 is a case in point:

“But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom [read: redeeming rule] of God has come upon you. Or how can anyone enter the strong man's house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.”

In the context of these verses, Jesus had been accused by the Pharisees of casting out demons by Beelzebub, the prince of the demons. Nonsense, Jesus said. Any kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.

Contrariwise, the fact that He exorcised demons by the power of God’s Spirit was proof positive that God’s redeeming rule had come upon them! In Christ, God was acting in kingly power to deliver those possessed by demons. When a person was so delivered, this was a clear sign of the victory of God’s rule in the world over Satan and his minions. In fact, as verse 29 above points out, this is what Jesus’ ministry was all about: binding the “strong man” Satan through the exercise of His sovereign power (see also 1 John 3:8). Once Satan is bound, Jesus will “carry off his property” and “plunder his house,” that is, take back the people who rightfully belong to Him. In short, Jesus’ exorcisms demonstrate the mighty presence of the Kingdom of God delivering people from the power of evil!

Another passage that indicates the presence of God’s kingship is Luke 17: 20-21.

Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or, 'There it is!' For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst. "

Like many in Israel, the Pharisees were looking forward to the arrival of God’s kingly rule in the world. But when would it come, they asked? Jesus makes two very important points in His response to their inquiry. One, and contrary to standard Jewish expectation, God’s kingship would not come apocalyptically with great signs and wonders that people could see; instead it must be coming in some secret or hidden way. Two, this invisible Kingdom was not a future thing at all, but was already in their midst. Undoubtedly, Jesus was referring to Himself as the embodiment of God’s sovereignty that had come into the world to destroy the malicious works of God’s enemies.

As a matter of fact, God’s Kingdom power and authority was present in Jesus and demonstrated in His every word and in His every deed. Over against falsehood and error, He taught truth, and His powerful teaching was proof positive of the Kingdom’s presence. Over against disease, death and demonic possession, He healed, resurrected, and delivered, and His miracles were also powerful proofs positive of the kingdom’s presence. From start to finish, Jesus’ entire life and ministry was the expression of God’s mighty rule that had broken into history to deliver the creation and its human inhabitants from the curse of sin and death. The rule of God was in Jesus. He was, as ancient church theologians believed, theAutobasileia, Himself the Kingdom!

Hence, in the book of Acts, when the apostles preach Jesus, they preach the kingdom and when they preach the kingdom, they preach Jesus! See for yourself:

But when they [the people of Samaria] believed Philip preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized, men and women alike.

And when they [Roman Jews} had set a day for him [Paul], they came to him at his lodging in large numbers; and he was explaining to them by solemnly testifying about the kingdom of God, and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus, from both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets, from morning until evening.

And he stayed two full years in his own rented quarters, and was welcoming all who came to him, Acts 28:31 preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered.

Thus we conclude that the New Testament teaches that the Kingdom of God has already come! But it also affirms that it is not yet. The Kingdom of God has come and is coming! How can this be? Actually this is pretty easy to substantiate.

The future of the Kingdom of God. New Testament evidence for a future manifestation of the Kingdom is overwhelming. The apocalyptic discourses in the synoptic gospels leave no doubt about Christ’s bodily second coming, and the final establishment of God’s rule in the world (see Matt. 24-25; Mark 13; Luke 21). Consider this passage as an example (Matt. 25:31-34):

"But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’”

John’s gospel also contains references to Christ’s return (John 14:3; 21:22; 1 John 2:28; 3:2), and so does his book of the Revelation (2:26-28; 3:12; 11:15; 19:11-16; 21:1-5; 22 7). Revelation 19:11-16 depicts the King of Kings and Lord of Lords returning to bring judgment upon the nations, and Revelation 21:1-5 conveys the glory of our final estate in very hopeful terms.

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them, and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away." And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." And He said, "Write, for these words are faithful and true."

Of course, the epistles of Paul and Peter are replete with references to the coming of Christ and future manifestation of God’s Kingdom (Rom. 8:18-25; 13:11-12; 1 Cor. 15; 16:22; 2 Cor. 5:1-10; Eph. 1:9-10; Phil. 3:20-21; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; 5:1-11; 2 Thess. 2:1-12; Titus 2:13-14; Heb. 11:13-16; 12: 13:14; James 5:8; 1 Pet. 2 Pet. 3:8-13). The last text cited sums up the Christian expectation about the return of Christ and the future of the earth.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, on account of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

How might we sum up the NT teaching about this matter of the timing of the Kingdom of God? Theologian George L. Ladd explains its two stages as clearly as anyone in these words that tie our study together up to this point.

Our central thesis is that the Kingdom of God is the redemptive reign of God dynamically active to establish his rule among human beings, and that this Kingdom, which will appear as an apocalyptic act [with signs and wonders] at the end of the age, has already come into human history in the person and mission of Jesus to overcome evil, to deliver people from its power, and to bring them into the blessings of God’s reign. The Kingdom of God involves two great moments: fulfillment within history [already], and consummation at the end of history [not yet].[2]

Now the Jews certainly believed that whenever the Kingdom came, it would come with some pizzazz. But it didn’t. It came in a rather understated way, to say the least. Hence, we must answer one last question about the manner in which the kingdom of God came.

How did the Kingdom come?

The shorthand answer to this question is this: it came unexpectedly in a hidden, spiritual form. It is the secret presence of God’s rule in the world in advance of its powerful apocalyptic manifestation; it is present Kingdom fulfillment without future Kingdom consummation. That the Jews were expecting something really BIG whenever God broke into history seems clear enough from several passages in the gospels (e.g., Matt. 11:2-6; Luke 1:67-75). Their version of Messiah was militaristic and political. They sought a Savior who would destroy evil and evil people. But it didn’t happen that way.

Important parables in the synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke help us to understand this “mystery of the kingdom of God” (Matt. 13:10-11; Mark 4:10-11; Luke 8:9-10). The parables explain how the Kingdom has come in this unexpected, but real manner. They disclose a new, previously unrevealed aspect of the divine Kingdom that is already established without bring in the end. We will summarize the significance of the Kingdom parables in Matthew 13, interpreting them in their historical context as they would have been understood by Jesus’ disciples.

The parable of the four soils (Matt. 13:1-9; 18-23): The Kingdom of God had come, but contrary to standard expectation, it would not be spread by power, but by the preaching of the Word. The responses to this proclamation would depend upon the conditions of the listeners’ hearts. The Kingdom of God will have only partial success. It will not sweep away all evil automatically, but, like seed, will be received by differently by different types of soils or hearts.

The parable of the wheat and the tares (Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43). This parable also teaches that the Kingdom is already present in the world, but its coming did not bring about the final separation of the wicked from the righteous. In the midst of this present age, society continues with its intermixture of the good and the evil. The sons of the kingdom and the sons of the evil one continue side by side. Only at the end of the age will the separation take place at the eschatological judgment.

The parables of the mustard seed and leaven (Matt. 13: 31-33). As a mustard seed, the Kingdom of God has entered the world in an imperceptible, humble form, virtually unnoticed and inauspicious. Yet, one day it will be a great tree and encompass the earth. How the Kingdom could be embodied in a relatively insignificant band of disciples who embrace outcasts, sinners, tax collectors is answered by this parable. Similarly, the Kingdom of God is hidden as leaven in a lump of dough. It will operate secretly but effectively, and will one day prevail such that no rival kingdom exists.

The parables of the treasure and pearl (Matt. 13:44-46). Because of the Kingdom’s inauspicious presence, its importance might be overlooked or despised. Both of these parables, however, teach that the Kingdom of God is of inestimable value and ought to be sought over all other possessions. It is humanity’s greatest good. It is worth selling everything in order to own it.

The parable of the drag-net (Matt. 13:47-50). Virtually identical in meaning to the wheat and the tares, this parable teaches that the kingdom has come into the world, but without effecting the final judgment. Again, contrary to expectations, a mixed spiritual society will remain until Christ returns.[3]

The Kingdom that was supposed to come in power and do away with evil came by means of preaching and allowed the wicked to remain alongside the righteous until the end. This is really God’s mercy! Had He come in power and judgment, none of us would be here today! Though the Kingdom arrived in a humble way, it is humankind’s greatest good. It is worth sacrificing everything to be a citizen of the Kingdom of God. But the Kingdom’s greatest mystery is connected with the cross!

The Kingdom and the cross

Simply put, the Kingdom is the cross! The cross is the Kingdom – in disguise! Yes, there on the cross, God in Christ conquered sin, defeated death, and triumphed over Satan. Sounds like a Kingdom victory to me! Yet it could not have appeared more unkingly. Jesus hung there in apparent defeat. There He suffered and died. Satan appears to have won the battle. Yet by this means, Jesus triumphed over God’s enemies and ours, and shares that victory with those who believe. Jesus is Christus Victor! By means of this victory, we are restored to God and our true purposes as human beings. It is the mystery of the Kingdom that makes us new creatures in Christ.

Conclusion

So while there are many views of the Kingdom floating about these days, the Bible is clear: the Kingdom of God is the rule or reign of God. It is not the church, or heaven, or moral reform, or the heart, or the future realm. It is God’s sovereignty in action against all the evil in the world! It came into the world in Christ. It is both present and future. Its arrival, however, was startling. It came as a mystery, in an unexpected form through the humble person and work of Jesus as the Suffering Servant who defeated sin, death, and Satan. It has set us free! It is the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises of redemption and the covenants of God.