The Kingdom

Introduction

The Kingdom of God includes both His general sovereignty over the universe and His particular kingship over men who willfully acknowledge Him as King. Particularly the Kingdom is the realm of salvation into which men enter by trustful, childlike commitment to Jesus Christ. Christians ought to pray and to labor that the Kingdom may come and God’s will be done on earth. The full consummation of the Kingdom awaits the return of Jesus Christ and the end of this age.

The Baptist Faith and Message, Article IX

Big Idea

Tonight, we seek to understand the Kingdom of God and His beloved Son.

What is it like?

What does the Bible say about it?

How are we a part of it?

Outline

1. The Nature of the Kingdom of God

2. The Scriptures and the Kingdom of God

3. The Church and the Kingdom of God

1. The Nature of the Kingdom of God

The Kingdom of God is both general and particular.

General

Generally speaking, The Kingdom of God refers to God’s sovereign rule over all things.

God is King.

No one made Him King.

He has always been the King.

Psalm 103:19 ESV

The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.

Whether creation wants to acknowledge the Kingship of God or not—He is the King.

Particular

Particularly speaking, The Kingdom of God refers to God’s kingship over those who willfully acknowledge Him as King.

God is King over all creation, but He’s King in a particular sense to those who have turned from sin and trusted in Him by faith.

Colossians 1:13 ESV

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,

Believers relate to God the King as willing subjects who seek to please and obey Him.

Believers receive blessings as citizens of the Kingdom of the Son that those outside the Kingdom do not experience

The Kingdom of God is exercised through Christ.

Jesus is the only Mediator between God and man.

And Jesus is the “Mediatorial Ruler” over God’s people

This means that all Kingdom blessings and benefits come to God’s people through Jesus Christ.

When we speak of Christ’s life and death we speak of his humiliation

But when we speak of Christ’s resurrection and ascension, we speak of his exaltation

The resurrected Christ is now exalted at the right hand of God the Father

Ephesians 1:20–22 ESV

that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church,

Christ is raised/seated at the right hand

Christ is King (Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion...all things under his feet)

Christ is the Mediatorial King (Head of the Church—all things come to the church through Him)

Same way for Old Testament believers.

They adhered to the ceremonial law by observing statutes that foreshadowed Christ

They turned from their sin

They trust in God’s plan

Did not know Christ’s name—but ultimately were still receiving all blessings through Him

The Kingdom of God is both present and coming.

Present

In one sense, the Kingdom is here and present. It is already.

We have already seen in Ephesians 1 that Jesus ruling and reigning at the right hand RIGHT NOW!

Jesus is not waiting to govern His people—He is King over His Church right now.

As a result we experience salvation RIGHT NOW.

We presently enjoy the spiritual riches from Christ’s treasury ALREADY

Ephesians 1:3 ESV

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,

Coming

But in another sense—the Kingdom is coming. It is not yet.

This is because the King is still coming!

We live in the age between the first and second coming of Christ.

During this time, Satan is bound from stopping the Gospel’s advance, but he is not inactive.

His activity only occurs within the boundaries of God’s allowance

He is already defeated, but not yet destroyed

But the day is coming when Satan, all of God’s enemies, and ALL THINGS will be fully and finally placed under the feet of King Jesus.

1 Corinthians 15:24–27 ESV

Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.”

2. The Scriptures and the Kingdom of God

The Kingdom of God is a major theme throughout the Bible

I want us to spend some time looking at some passages and drawing out what they have to say about the Kingdom.

We will look at OT and NT

Old Testament

In the OT, the kingdom of God is seen as God’s rule over all creation

Psalm 47:2 ESV

For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth.

He is the One behind the rise and fall of nations

Job 12:23 ESV

He makes nations great, and he destroys them; he enlarges nations, and leads them away.

His rule is good and just

Psalm 99:4 ESV

The King in his might loves justice. You have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.

To summarize:

The OT presents God as a good and perfect King whose purposes will work out in unfolding of human history

And yet, as we read the Old Testament, it is clear the Kingdom picture is incomplete.

Isaiah 9:6— Where is the Prince of Peace? The One who has the government upon His shoulders?

2 Samuel 7—Where is the Messianic King from David’s line who will sit on David’s throne forever?

Micah 5:2—Where is the Ruler who will be born from Bethlehem?

Not only does the OT leave you expecting a “King to come,” but it leaves you expecting a King who will rule the nations:

Psalm 2:7–12 ESV

I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

New Testament

The King

In the NT, the identity of the coming King who will rule the nations is revealed.

When He was born He was worshipped as a King.

Matthew 2:2 ESV

saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

When He announced His public ministry, He announced the Kingdom had come.

Mark 1:15 ESV

and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

When He died He was called a King—even in mockery.

John 19:19 ESV

Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”

And one day, when He returns, He will come again as a King.

Revelation 19:15–16 ESV

From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

The Kingdom

When the King came, He taught extensively about the Kingdom

What can we learn about the Kingdom from the King?

The Kingdom must be entered.

Matthew 18:3 ESV

and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

It is not inherited by family/nationality; It is not earned by religious duty

Entry requires repentance, faith, and one must be born again

You humble yourself before God like a little child

2. The Kingdom is precious and valuable.

Matthew 13:44–46 ESV

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

The Kingdom is worth more than everything else combined.

The man who sees it clearly will gladly surrender all to have it.

No sacrifice is too great—including laying down your own life as an offering

3. The Kingdom starts small but grows big.

Matthew 13:33 ESV

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.”

What starts with 12 apostles taught by single Rabbi turns into a God-exalting, Christ-centered movement that changed the face of the world

4. The Kingdom is responded to differently by different people.

Seen in Parable of the Soils in Matthew 13

The Message of the Kingdom will be rejected outright by some

The Message of the Kingdom will be initially received by others

Some fall way because of suffering and persecution

Some fall away because of a love for the world

But Christ says the ones who truly receive the message of the Kingdom produce fruit

Matthew 13:23 ESV

As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

5. The Kingdom is a home for the nations.

Matthew 13:32 ESV

It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

The people who receive the message and produce fruit come from all over the world.

Every tribe, tongue and language will have a significant throng representing them in the Kingdom

All the tribes of the earth will find a home in the Kingdom

Let us go and tell and invest in missions believing this!!

6. The Kingdom will include good and bad until the end of the age.

Matthew 13:47–50 ESV

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

It is possible to be around the Kingdom and its citizens...

It is possible to do things in the name of the King and the Kingdom...

...And yet still have a heart that is far from God.

Matthew 7:21–22 ESV

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’

In the end, Jesus will separate the good fish from the bad

He will separate the sheep from the goat

He will separate the wheat from the tare

The separation will fall along the lines of who has a heart of submitted faith toward the King

7. The Kingdom is going to culminate with the return of the King.

When the King returns is when that separation will occur.

Matthew 25:31–33 ESV

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.

It is then that the Kingdom will be fully and finally consummated

This is when the heavenly vision of Revelation will come true!

With Satan defeated and evil vanquished—

Revelation 11:15 ESV

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.”

Then all the prophecies will be true and all things will be made new.

3. The Church and the Kingdom of God.

The Church and the Kingdom are not the same thing.

The Church is the eternal people of God.

The Church is made up of all of God’s people throughout all of time in all places.

The scope of the Kingdom is bigger than that.

The Kingdom is the eternal rule of God.

Extends beyond the church

New heaven

New earth

Animals

Oceans

Angels

Kingdom and church are NOT the same thing.

Kingdom has a bigger scope.

Try replacing “kingdom” in the gospels with “church” or “church” with “kingdom” in the epistles and you quickly realize synonyms they are not.

Kevin DeYoung

The Church represents the Kingdom on earth.

Though they are not synonyms, the relationship is still close

The church is the visible representation of the Kingdom of God on the earth

The church displays the power of the Kingdom is how we have been saved and in how we minister

The church displays the promises of the Kingdom in how God blesses us and fulfills His Great Commission through us

The Church are like citizens of one country living in another.

We are Kingdom citizens in this world.

Philippians 3:20 ESV

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,

Local churches are like little embassies for the Kingdom citizens to gather in as we wait on Christ to return.

When we make someone a member, we are saying they are an ambassador for Christ, joining us in making an appeal to the world.

In light of that, the local churches should reflect the Kingdom.

Churches are Kingdom communities.

She is composed of those who have entered the Kingdom through repentance and faith

She lives now under the King's rule, ethics, and values

The Church should pray and labor for the Kingdom to come.

Until the Day the King returns, the church shows she is a Kingdom community by praying and laboring for the Kingdom.

The Church does not build or establish the Kingdom — God does

What It Does Mean

She bears witness to it through gospel proclamation

Every conversion is a life brought under the reign of Christ

God’s plan for seeing people converted and discipled is the local church

Therefore, we pray and labor to reach, baptize and disciple through THIS local church

ALSO, we pray and labor to reach, baptize and disciple by investing to plant OTHER local churches and revitalize them

What It Does Not Mean

The Church does this with pulpits and preaching—not swords.

John 18:36 ESV

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”

We should stay away from theological viewpoints that lead us to think the church’s mission to rule over the kingdoms of man

The Kingdom of God and Kingdoms of Man serve two different purposes.

This takes us back to what GENERAL/COMMON and PARTICULAR/REDEMPTIVE

Common Kingdom of Man

God rules over all humanity through natural law and conscience; civil government

This kingdom includes believers and unbelievers alike

Its purpose is to restrain evil, promote civil order, and preserve human society

The church has no direct authority here — the state does (put in place by God)

Redemptive Kingdom of the Church

God rules over His redeemed people through Christ

This kingdom is entered only through repentance and faith

Its instrument is the Word — not the sword

The state has no authority here — the church does

Conclusion

We should all leave with two thoughts:

Am I in the Kingdom?

Not am I on a church roll?

Not do I do good works?

Have I repented and believed?

What am I doing for the Kingdom?

Are you praying?

Are you laboring

If so—do not grow weary—press on—your King is coming!

If not—put your hand to the plow—your King is coming!