Why So Much About The Kingdom? As I grew in my knowledge and understanding of God’s Word, I began to notice words and phrases that were repeated a lot all through the Bible. I also learned that one of the things that Hebrew writers would use for emphasis, and to show importance, was repetition. Jesus did the same thing as He taught his disciples he would often start out with “Truly, truly I say to you…” I also noticed that one of those repeated words was “KINGDOM.” Old Testament Kingdom Conversations About the Kingdom- For thousands of years before Jesus came to the earth in flesh, the Jewish nation, Israel, had heard many prophets speaking words from the LORD, their God. Many of these prophesies were about a coming Messiah, sent by God, to set up the Kingdom of God. The Jewish people were expectantly waiting for this Kingdom, and its King, long before Jesus arrived. (2 Sam 7:12-17)New Testament Conversations About the Kingdom – When Jesus started his public ministry the first recorded words that He said were these words: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”( Matthew 3:2)”. So the first thing that the God of the universe says, after being born by a virgin, growing into a man in the flesh, being baptized by John the Baptist, being approved by the Father, and after successfully surviving forty days of fasting and then temptation by the Enemy, was about the kingdom of heaven. Final Kingdom Conversations- Then at the end of God’s Word, the word Kingdom comes up many times throughout the Book of Revelation. And the whole final book of God’s Word is filled with descriptions of what it will be like in the Kingdom of the new heaven and new earth. (15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” Revelation 11:15)Gospel Conversations About The Kingdom- In the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), , Jesus taught many parables to his disciples that began with the words: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like…” And many of the parables taught about the characteristics of the “Kingdom.” (33 He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.” Matthew 13:33) Jesus also spoke about seeing the kingdom and entering the kingdom as if it was to be the highest goal and aim for all humans (John 3:3-8). Jesus Himself is called the King of kings, and is to be the King of the Kingdom of God. Therefore, if we are listening well to what God’s Spirit says in the Bible, we can’t help but notice that an emphasis and supreme importance is put on knowing about the Kingdom. When Jesus talked to Nicodemus about being “born again” it was a conversation about salvation. But the whole salvation conversation started like this, “Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”( John 3:3) Then it continued with: "Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." John 3:5. This conversation concludes by talking about eternal life: "that whoever believes in him may have eternal life."( John 3:15). There are only two destinies for all humans: eternal life, or eternal death (perishing): “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."( John 3:16). And those who receive God’s loving gift of eternal life will live eternally in the KINGDOM. In other words, any conversation about salvation should be a conversation about the Kingdom.
Kingdom Conversations About the Coming King The best of the time “under the sun” came when the “Redeemer/Messiah/Suffering King” came down to earth as Immanuel- “God with us.” God’s Son, Jesus, came from heaven to the earth to:a. Live a human life with perfect obedience to his Father’s will. (the perfect Son, 2 Corinthians 5:21)b. To conquer all of God’s enemies and overcome the world. (the Perfect King,, John 16:33)c. To absorb the wrath of God because of sin. (offer Himself as a perfect sacrifice, Heb. 7:27)d. To purchase peace between God and man. (redeem and reconcile them, Titus 2:14)e. To purchase peace between man and man. (reconcile them, Eph. 2:14-19)f. To deliver man from slavery to sin, and remove all their condemnation. (make new creations, John 8:34-36, Rom: 8:1, 2Cor 5:17)g. To provide a way for people to live with God in His Kingdom. (impute righteousness to people, Rom 5:17-18 )h. To prepare God’s people for living face to face with God. (to sanctify God’s people and make them holy before God, 1 Thes 5:23)i. To give renewed access for God’s people to the Tree of Life. (to give eternal life, Gen 3:24, Rev 2:7)j. To give fullness of joy to God’s people forever. (satisfies all needs and desires, John 16:24)k. And so much more…
Conversations about Victory over the flesh, the world and the Devil. Remember Palm Sunday? Some churches pass out little cross shaped pins made out of palm leaves on Palm Sunday. Everybody at church is saying “Hosanna, He is risen”. Familiar traditional Easter Hymns are sung and it all has a very special feeling. It definitely is not just another Sunday.But do we remember how the Scriptures represent Palm Sunday? It is described as a Kingly procession and a big celebration that in some ways was a lot like Roman kings would have after a big victory on the battlefield. But instead of a stallion Jesus rode in to Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey. And the people cheered “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” (Mark 11:8-10)Palm Sunday is the beginning of Jesus’ victory procession toward Jerusalem. Jesus had just conquered/overcome the world. It started with a victory over the old enemy Satan when Jesus won the battle against temptation in the wilderness. It continued with Jesus casting out many evil spirits on his travels around the promised land headed toward Jerusalem. And it ended with his final words on the cross. “It is finished”. What is finished? Only the biggest longest battle in earth’s history. When Abel’s blood was spilled on the ground by his own brother, by the first seed of the serpent, that blood of the first martyr has been crying out to God for justice ever since. And when Jesus died on the cross, his blood was spilt on the ground by a Roman spear and it cried out a better word to God (Heb 12:24), a word of mercy and grace. This battle has really been going on since God put enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent.(Gen. 3:15) And if Abel was a seed of the woman(Heb. 11:4), and Cain was a child of the devil(1 John 3:12) this was the beginning of the battle right after the Garden. And when Jesus, who was the Seed of the woman, received the bruise to his heel on the cross, He then died and was buried and was raised from the dead. This was the crushing blow to the head of the old serpent. All of this was also followed by Jesus’ ascension to heaven, where He was seated at the right hand of God, the seat that Jesus earned by his obedient life and acceptable sacrificial death (Acts 17:31). (sounds a little like Abel’s accepted sacrifice Heb 11:4) And the seat that the ascended Jesus sits in at the Father’s right hand is the throne of the King, who was beginning his reign as the King of the Kingdom of God. One long battle because of one big victorious plan of God. And “The kingdom of heaven was at hand.”And all of earth history has a lot to do with a Kingdom, a King, and innumerable Kingdom citizens. Wow! Salvation is “so much more than just a fix for my sin problem.”
Kingdom Conversations About the Coming King The best of the time “under the sun” came when the “Redeemer/Messiah/Suffering King” came down to earth as Immanuel- “God with us.” God’s Son, Jesus, came from heaven to the earth to:a. Live a human life with perfect obedience to his Father’s will. (the perfect Son, 2 Corinthians 5:21)b. To conquer all of God’s enemies and overcome the world. (the Perfect King,, John 16:33)c. To absorb the wrath of God because of sin. (offer Himself as a perfect sacrifice, Heb. 7:27)d. To purchase peace between God and man. (redeem and reconcile them, Titus 2:14)e. To purchase peace between man and man. (reconcile them, Eph. 2:14-19)f. To deliver man from slavery to sin, and remove all their condemnation. (make new creations, John 8:34-36, Rom: 8:1, 2Cor 5:17)g. To provide a way for people to live with God in His Kingdom. (impute righteousness to people, Rom 5:17-18 )h. To prepare God’s people for living face to face with God. (to sanctify God’s people and make them holy before God, 1 Thes 5:23)i. To give renewed access for God’s people to the Tree of Life. (to give eternal life, Gen 3:24, Rev 2:7)j. To give fullness of joy to God’s people forever. (satisfies all needs and desires, John 16:24)k. And so much more…
Conversations about Victory over the flesh, the world and the Devil. Remember Palm Sunday? Some churches pass out little cross shaped pins made out of palm leaves on Palm Sunday. Everybody at church is saying “Hosanna, He is risen”. Familiar traditional Easter Hymns are sung and it all has a very special feeling. It definitely is not just another Sunday.But do we remember how the Scriptures represent Palm Sunday? It is described as a Kingly procession and a big celebration that in some ways was a lot like Roman kings would have after a big victory on the battlefield. But instead of a stallion Jesus rode in to Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey. And the people cheered “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” (Mark 11:8-10)Palm Sunday is the beginning of Jesus’ victory procession toward Jerusalem. Jesus had just conquered/overcome the world. It started with a victory over the old enemy Satan when Jesus won the battle against temptation in the wilderness. It continued with Jesus casting out many evil spirits on his travels around the promised land headed toward Jerusalem. And it ended with his final words on the cross. “It is finished”. What is finished? Only the biggest longest battle in earth’s history. When Abel’s blood was spilled on the ground by his own brother, by the first seed of the serpent, that blood of the first martyr has been crying out to God for justice ever since. And when Jesus died on the cross, his blood was spilt on the ground by a Roman spear and it cried out a better word to God (Heb 12:24), a word of mercy and grace. This battle has really been going on since God put enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent.(Gen. 3:15) And if Abel was a seed of the woman(Heb. 11:4), and Cain was a child of the devil(1 John 3:12) this was the beginning of the battle right after the Garden. And when Jesus, who was the Seed of the woman, received the bruise to his heel on the cross, He then died and was buried and was raised from the dead. This was the crushing blow to the head of the old serpent. All of this was also followed by Jesus’ ascension to heaven, where He was seated at the right hand of God, the seat that Jesus earned by his obedient life and acceptable sacrificial death (Acts 17:31). (sounds a little like Abel’s accepted sacrifice Heb 11:4) And the seat that the ascended Jesus sits in at the Father’s right hand is the throne of the King, who was beginning his reign as the King of the Kingdom of God. One long battle because of one big victorious plan of God. And “The kingdom of heaven was at hand.”And all of earth history has a lot to do with a Kingdom, a King, and innumerable Kingdom citizens. Wow! Salvation is “so much more than just a fix for my sin problem.”