The Kingdom Of God
Feature 3 – January 2025 – Grace & Truth Magazine
The Kingdom Of God
God’s Plans Will Be Fulfilled
God is the “everlasting King” (Jer. 10:10 NKJV ), and having a kingdom is something He had in mind from the very beginning of creation. When He created Adam and Eve, God put Adam in the position of a ruler – a king – to represent Him, with Eve at his side like a queen (read Gen. 1–2). However, Adam and Eve’s fall ruined what God had made (Gen. 3). Apart from Abel, who was murdered, and Seth with his descendants, Adam and Eve’s offspring through the line of Cain chose a path that brought death and destruction (Gen. 4–5). This led to God’s judgment through the flood during Noah’s lifetime. Only eight persons survived, which was by means of the ark that Noah had built according to God’s instructions.
God then introduced a new world, with Noah and his wife, their three sons and daughters-in-law, and the animals He had preserved. Leaving the ark, which had settled on Mount Ararat, Noah built an altar on which he offered burnt offerings from the animals God had called “clean” (8:20, see 7:2; Lev. 11). God was pleased with this sacrifice and established a covenant that is still valid today (8:21-22). This covenant will last until His final judgment (2 Pet. 3).
Soon after the flood, however, another form of ruin began as humanity turned to idolatry. The serving of idols replaced the worship of the true God (Gen. 10–11; Rom. 1:18-32). Man’s rebellion did not take God by surprise, for He is omniscient, or all-knowing.
Demons are the power behind idols (1 Cor. 8–10). Their dominion will continue until God’s public intervention in judgment. The Lord will stop the enemy’s rule at the beginning of His millennial reign, and after 1,000 years the final judgment will take place before the great white throne (Rev. 20:11-15).
Abram was among idol worshipers, but God took him away from the idolatry in his day (Josh. 24:2-3). God called Abram, meaning “exalted father,” and later named him “Abraham,” or “father of a multitude,” even before his wife Sarah was able to conceive (Gen. 17). Then, when God’s time had come, a great miracle took place. Abraham had passed the age to father a child (Rom. 4:19), and Sarah, apart from her physical condition of being “barren” (Gen. 11:30), had also passed the age when a woman usually is able to conceive (18:13). Despite these obstacles, upon God’s amazing promise, Abram and Sarah had relations as a married couple. As a result, with God’s simultaneous intervention, Sarah conceived and, after about nine months, gave birth to a son: Isaac (21:1-7). These details help us understand that God’s plans must and will be fulfilled, despite difficulties or apparent impossibilities.
God’s Plan For The King And His Kingdom
Psalm 2 outlines God’s plan to have a King ruling over His people and the nations. This will be fulfilled according to His Word. Thus, in the “fullness of … time … God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law” (Gal. 4:4).
Mary was a virgin when the Holy Spirit overshadowed her and caused her to conceive (Mt. 1:20-21; Lk. 1:26-56). No pregnancy could ever happen apart from the fact that it is a miracle in creation. How much more in this case! Mary and Joseph accepted and honored God’s unique plan regarding the Baby she had conceived through the Holy Spirit. Later, God blessed Mary and Joseph with children from the two of them together (read Mt. 13:55-56).
Remarkably, Mary was still a virgin at the moment when she gave birth to her Son, Jesus. His coming in flesh remains a great mystery: “Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory” (1 Tim. 3:16 ESV).
Mary and Joseph honored God as well as the Baby He gave. Joseph respectfully adopted the Baby as his, recognizing that the Child’s real Father was God Himself (Mt. 1:18-25; Lk. 2:4-7). These details show us the greatness of the King, while other Scriptures mention different important features concerning Christ and His kingdom.
Where The King Is, There Is The Kingdom
The little phrase, “where the king is, there is the kingdom,” represents a principle that Jesus Himself explained in a verse often misunderstood and misinterpreted. He said in Luke 17:20-21, “The kingdom of God is in the midst of you,” or “is within you” (17:20-21 NKJV). With these words He indicated an important concept, namely, where the King is, there is His Kingdom … even though His outward appearance in humility seemed to contradict that point.
Because of the way in which He appeared – in seeming weakness – Israel’s leaders did not want to accept Him, as Matthew’s gospel shows. Christ came in obvious weakness as a Baby, but God caused a company of high-ranking officials from faraway to travel to Jerusalem to worship Him. Seeking to honor the newborn King and led by an amazing phenomenon God gave in the skies, these wise men overcame challenges and obstacles to find and worship Him (Mt. 2:1-2).
The ruling classes of the Jews, however, did not care about His arrival, even though they knew the Scriptures about His coming (vv.5-6). King Herod saw his position challenged by this Baby, whom he thought to be a competitor and therefore wanted to eliminate (vv.7-8,13). The noble visitors, independent of the ruling Jews, greatly rejoiced as God used the certain star to lead them to the house where the young Child was (vv.9-10). Entering, they saw the Child with His mother Mary, Joseph probably being a silent witness.
Falling before the Child Jesus, they worshiped Him, opened their treasures, and offered Him gifts of “gold, frankincense, and myrrh” (v.11). Gold speaks of Jesus’ divinity or deity, while the frankincense indicates His personal greatness, as a fragrance to God’s delight. The myrrh reflects His manifold sufferings, including His unfathomable sufferings of the cross. The gifts represent a response from hearts that appreciate who He is and what He has accomplished.
After our Lord’s death on the cross, Nicodemus brought an amazing present of great value to honor Him: a large amount of a fragrant ointment composed of myrrh and aloes. This last-mentioned spice indicates the unfathomable greatness of the Lord’s person (Jn. 19:39). Mary of Bethany, with great insight and love, days before His death, sacrificed a gift of tremendous value, spikenard, to anoint Jesus’ feet and head in anticipation of His sufferings (Jn. 12:1-3; Mt. 26:7). These details encourage us to bring true worship to Him, in view of His person and the work He accomplished. Only God can fully measure Jesus’ unfathomable sufferings on the cross, which will forever be before us to worship and adore Him, when we will see Him as He is.
A Song Concerning The King
Even though the Lord’s earthly people have rejected Jesus, they will return to Him. First a small remnant will honor Him. They will go through tremendous sufferings, spelled out for example in Psalms 42–44, because the majority in Israel will follow the Antichrist (2 Th. 2; Rev. 13). The believing remnant will identify with the rejected Messiah, whom they will know to be at God’s right hand, “crowned with glory and honor” (Heb. 2:9). Later, the whole nation will finally honor Him. They will confess Him as “my God” (Ps. 42:6) and respond to His love with amazing devotion, as we may do today.
“To the Chief Musician” is part of the heading of the remarkable Psalm 45. It is an expression we find 56 (7x8) times in the Hebrew text: 55 times in Psalms and once in Habakkuk 3:19. “To the chief Musician” is one compound word in Hebrew, which refers to the song leader in the temple. Ultimately, it refers to our blessed Lord Jesus, the true King and Leader of a company of worshipers (see Heb. 2:10-18). Through His Spirit, He leads them, and us today, to express in worship what we have found in Him who is “bringing many sons to glory” (v.10).
Psalm 45 is a beautiful “song of loves” (literal translation of the introduction), which is also translated “song of the Beloved.” In Hebrew it is called a maschil, meaning an “instruction.” The term refers to those instructed or taught in God’s school, the Maschilim. Even though they will live among a people who will follow the Antichrist, these faithful followers of Jesus will be marked by purity, as expressed by “lilies” (shoshannim). Furthermore, this song is a response from the heart, freely led by the Holy Spirit, “a ready writer.”
As already mentioned, God’s redeemed ones among the Jewish people will be going through great depths of anguish and sufferings because of the great tribulation, while we believers will be in heaven to pray for them (Rev. 5:8). In a short time the living God will lead His earthly people to respond to the greatness and love of the King (Ps. 45:1). The term “overflows” (ESV) points to the rich and abundant activities under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, using the resources of the living Word, with the Son as the Object and Center of this beautiful song. The term “overflowing” (NKJV) suggests a never-ending response to His amazing person and work (see Rev. 5:1-10). How wonderful He is, and how great is His kingdom (Heb. 1:8-14)!
All of this is in view of the world-to-come, the millennial reign, when the Lord Jesus will be honored as King. However, by God’s grace, we do not have to wait until then to honor Him. We may do so now and forever!
Sanctify Christ As Lord In Your Hearts
Peter wrote about the kingdom of God, just as John did about the family of God and Paul did about the Assembly of God. Peter’s instructions can be summed up by what he wrote in his first epistle: “Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts” (1 Pet. 3:15 NASB95). Honoring Christ – God’s Anointed – as Lord and submitting to His authority is in the first place a matter of the heart (2 Pet. 1:19). Thus, we may publicly confess Him as Lord now (1 Cor. 12:3). In the millennium, all humans and angels will bow the knee to Him and confess Him as Lord (Phil. 2:9-11). We sometimes say, “The matter of the heart is the heart of the matter,” because from the heart are the issues of life. Therefore we need to carefully guard it (Prov. 4:23) as we confess Him.
From the beginning of his ministry Paul proclaimed the kingdom of God, following Christ’s example (Acts 1:3). Thus, the apostle emphasized the rights the Lord Jesus has, not only in view of the world to come but already now for everyone who confesses His name. This includes people who have been baptized in His name and have confessed Him as Lord, even though they may not yet be born again. They owe Him their special allegiance, as we all do, to honor Him, because He is their Creator and ours, too. In other words, as Creator He has rights, and all creatures are responsible to Him. He also has rights as the Redeemer, because through His work He has bought the whole creation through His precious blood (2 Pet. 2:1). Therefore, every human being is obliged to honor Him (read 2 Pet. 1). Those who do not want to will be forced to do so, because all will have to confess Him as Lord, without any exception (Phil. 2:10-12).
This all shows how important it is to confess Him as Lord with willing hearts, accepting and knowing His salvation through faith. In God’s coming kingdom in public display, the King will have His rightful place, as Savior-God, as Head of the Church, and as the very Center of God’s kingdom – to be adored by all (Rev. 20).
Paul’s Ministry: Keep Going!
The Lord Jesus always continued in ministry (consider Lk. 24:50; Acts 1:1-2). Likewise, the Lord gave Paul grace to continue his ministry by proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ (28:30-31). The apostle did so with all boldness and without any hindrance, even though he was held prisoner, at times bound to four soldiers who were replaced every six hours. Thus Paul was watched day and night. It seems that the soldiers were privileged to hear Paul’s conversations with his many visitors. Some soldiers, and others there such as Onesimus (see Paul’s letter to Philemon), got saved. The soldiers also witnessed the prayers by Paul and his visitors, and heard the good news as he dictated his letters. Paul must have accepted and answered the soldiers’ questions as well (Acts 22-28; Gal. 1–2; 1 Cor. 15).
The liberty Paul experienced the first time as a prisoner of Rome contrasts greatly to the second time Paul was imprisoned, when he was taken as if he were a criminal (2 Tim. 1). In both situations, Paul is an example for us today, whether in prison or free. May we all learn from him who said, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1 KJV).
Lessons For Us Today About The Kingdom
The Lord’s disciples asked Him whether He would soon restore the kingdom to Israel. Rather than saying the question was irrelevant at the time, the Lord Jesus explained to them what they needed to do while He would be absent (Acts 1:6-8). He spoke to them for 40 days about the things pertaining to the kingdom of God (v.3). His disciples – servants, representatives, witnesses – needed much teaching about what to do and how. Led by the Holy Spirit, the New Testament writers elaborated on these instructions in their writings, giving us many Scriptures about what to do for the honor of the Lord Jesus while He sits at God’s right hand.
Acts contains seven key verses about the kingdom of God, mostly linked to implications for the present (1:3, 8:12, 14:22). A close connection exists between our role and actions in the kingdom today, and our position in its future manifestation. The absent King’s interests are linked to the good news – the gospel – presented during the day of grace. Thus, we read that as Philip the evangelist “preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized” (8:12 NKJV). While baptism does not save a person, it was through their baptism that these new disciples acknowledged the rights of the King, the Lord Jesus Christ. In addition to these three passages in Acts, we have four more linked to Paul:
- “He went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God” (19:8). This is a Jewish setting. Israel had rejected the Messiah and God’s claims through Him while He was with them on earth, and now He spoke to them from heaven. Also, Jews living elsewhere in the world needed to be taught to acknowledge Him and to submit to His interests, as Saul of Tarsus had learned to do and many other Jewish people before and after him (consider Rom. 1:16).
- “I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more” (Acts 20:25). Here, the apostle was speaking to the elders of the church in Ephesus. That assembly was composed of men and women who were called out from among the Jews and Gentiles. From Ephesus, sometime before this speech, Paul had written to the believers at Corinth: “Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God” (1 Cor. 10:32). Thus, the believers called out from among Jews and Gentiles form a new testimony, linked to the kingdom of God.
- “He explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning till evening” (Acts 28:23). The setting of this verse is in a prison in Rome. Paul had invited the local Jewish leaders to visit, as he was unable to go to them. When they came, the apostle would then explain how the Scriptures relate to Jesus the Messiah and how each Jewish person – and every human being (v.28) – is responsible before God to submit to His claims. This even includes everyone who rejects those claims.
- “Preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him” (28:31). “Preaching” in this verse means “proclaiming,” and it refers to a public witness, testifying about God’s rights. Disciples today may and should follow Paul’s example.
Furthermore, the kingdom of God centers on Christ, who is the King and whom the believers own as Lord, in faith and obedience. Paul had written some years earlier: “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved” (Rom. 10:9 NASB95).
The book of Acts concludes with an important statement: “And he [Paul] stayed two full years in his own rented quarters and was welcoming all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered” (28:30-31). It implies that no one can stop the work of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Also, we find a challenge to proclaim and teach on an ongoing basis the things concerning this blessed person and the kingdom of God in its present meaning, while trusting the Lord.
May it be so for us all, for His name’s sake!
By Alfred Bouter
In Acts 28, Paul was still a prisoner, yet he was allowed to rent a house and dwell there and receive all who desired to see him. Thus he had opportunities for testimony, and the word of God was not bound. As far as the book of Acts is concerned, we take leave of him spending two whole years preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, without any restraint. His trial was delayed in the providence of God, and a door of utterance was thus opened to him. During this time Onesimus was converted and doubtless others also; some of his epistles also were written. —Frank B. Hole, “Acts” (adapted)