“What Is The Kingdom?”

Thursday, March 24, 2016

This scripture is intriguing... it implies we won't be able to tell when the kingdom of God comes.  What do you suppose it means?

Luke 17:20 The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Sincerely,
Searching For Secrets

Dear Searching For Secrets,

The kingdom is already here.  The kingdom is the church.  Paul says that all christians have already been transferred into the kingdom (Col 1:12-13).  Both John the Baptist and Jesus preached that the kingdom was coming very soon (Matt 3:1-2, Matt 4:17).  Jesus told the disciples that some of them would see the kingdom come within their lifetime (Matt 16:28).  What large organization was Jesus in charge of that started within the lifetime of Jesus’ apostles?  That would be the church!

In Lk 17:20-21, Jesus is addressing one of the common misconceptions about His kingdom.  It wouldn’t be a physical kingdom with castles, fortresses, and armies.  Jesus’ kingdom would grow within the hearts of those who followed Him.  That is because His kingdom is a spiritual kingdom… a kingdom not of this world (Jhn 18:36).  On the first day of Jesus’ kingdom/church, three thousand people entered that kingdom through baptism (Acts 2:38-41).  An entire nation cropped up overnight… without a single shot being fired.

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