The Kingdom Of God

by J.W. Archibald, Wembley, England | Category: A Centenary Review Of Major Themes | Oct 1988

This article is a restatement of many of the truths of the kingdom of God that have been expounded by contributors to this magazine during the last hundred years.

Old Testament Times

The first reference to a kingdom in the Scriptures is the kingdom of Nimrod, which began with the building of the city and the tower of Babel (Gen. 10:8-12; 11:1-9). At Babel men rallied to an outstanding leader and joined in a common purpose to try to establish security, power and enduring fame. In a structured society they sought the benefits of collective human enterprise, but God had no place in that first earthly kingdom.

Subsequent scripture narrative shows how God developed His purposes in the line of Abraham, whom God called out of that early civilization to live a separated life and to be a pilgrim in the world. In due time God gave to Moses the wonderful revelation of His deep desire to have a special relationship with an earthly people and nation. The great God of heaven and earth would come down and dwell among Israel, the descendants of Abraham, and they were to be a kingdom of priests (Ex. 19:5,6; 25:8). All of this was to be conditional on the people's obedience to God's voice and their keeping of His commandments, because this kingdom was to be very different from the kingdoms of men. In the Israel people from Sinai onwards we have the Old Testament expression of the kingdom of God, which reached its summit of earthly greatness and spiritual prosperity in the much later times of David and Solomon.

Any successful kingdom must have a worthy king to rule and lead it. It must have good laws by which it can exist and function, and it must have subjects who acknowledge the king and obey his laws. In the Old Testament expression of the kingdom of God, God was the King and His rule was subsequently exercised by the royal line of David, chosen and appointed by God (Ps. 78: 70-72). The law of the kingdom was the Law given by God through Moses at Sinai, and the subjects were the people of Israel who said, "All that the LORD hath spoken will we do, and be obedient" (Ex. 24:7).

The Little Flock

The Old Testament scriptures record a history of spiritual decline until the time of Israel's captivity and beyond. When the fulness of the time came and God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, Israel was under Roman domination. The ultimate act in their long story of departure from God was their national rejection of the Christ of God. "Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your king? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar" (John 19:15).

The Lord had spoken to the leaders of Israel about this national rejection in the parable of the householder and the vineyard. He quoted from Psalm 118, "The stone which the builders rejected, the same was made head of the corner" and then announced, "The kingdom of God shall be taken away from you, and shall be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof" (Mat. 21:42,43). To find out the identity of the favoured nation, we turn to 1 Peter 2, where Peter uses the same quotation from Psalm 118 about the stone rejected by the builders. That Stone is the chief corner stone laid in Zion, unto whom come living stones to be built up a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, a royal priesthood and a holy nation, a people of God's own possession. The stones are living stones because the people whom Peter is addressing have all experienced the new birth, even as the Lor4 told Nicodemus, "Except a man be born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). But more than that, these living stones, coming to the Lord have acknowledged the Lordship of Christ, and are built into an ordered structure according to the divine pattern. They are in a visible relationship with other disciples in the house of God which is the Church of the Living God. The structure of that house is seen in the many local Churches of God which in fellowship together constitute the holy nation spoken of by Peter, and by the Lord to the leaders of Israel in Matthew 21. It is to this holy nation that the kingdom of God is given.

This was confirmed by the Lord when He said to His disciples, "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32). He spoke not of individual sheep taking each his own way, but of a flock who together follow Him as their Shepherd and Leader. The Scriptures clearly teach that the Lord desires His disciples to be together in one community of divine origin and constitution, but this depends on the obedience of the disciples to the Lord's word, just as the establishment of the Old Testament kingdom of God was conditional on the obedience of Israel.

Thus we see that in the kingdom of God in New Testament times, the King is the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the Psalmist said prophetically, "I have set My King upon My holy hill of Zion" (Psalm 2:6). The law of the kingdom is the teaching of the Lord, given through His apostles and described by Jude as "the Faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints" (Jude 3). This teaching was the subject of the Lord's ministry to His disciples after His resurrection, when He appeared to them by the space of forty days, speaking the things concerning the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3). The subjects of the kingdom are the disciples of the Lord, living on earth and gathered into the unity described in 1 Peter 2, which is conditional on their obedience to the Lord's word. These He affectionately calls the "little flock".

The Character of the Kingdom

Paul the apostle tells us that the characteristics of the kingdom are righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17,18). Righteousness is fundamental to any activity that is of God. The Psalmist exclaimed, "Righteousness and judgement are the foundation of Thy throne" ~s. 89:14), and king David said, "A sceptre of equity is the sceptre of Thy kingdom" (Ps. 45:6). The kingdoms of men have all been blemished by wrongdoing and some have been founded on injustice, but falsehood and error have no place in

the kingdom of God. The standard to which the subjects of the kingdom need to adhere is repeatedly emphasized by Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:9,10, Galatians 5:19-21, and Ephesians 5:5. Practices that disqualify include sins of the flesh such as fornication, adultery, homosexuality, uncleanness, lasciviousness and drunkenness. Just as important but sometimes more easily overlooked are offences of mind and character like theft, extortion, enmity, jealousy, wrath, envy and covetousness. Note that covetousness is classed as a form of idolatry. Idolatry and sorcery in the modern world can take deceptive forms. Perhaps one of the commonest and most destructive forms of unrighteousness that have damaged the kingdom is heresies, or literally choosing one's own way rather than waiting in humble subjection to discern the will of God. This ugly intrusion of self-will very often leads to the related evils of factions and divisions among God's people. The word of the Lord is inescapable that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

The use of the word inherit reminds us of the occupation of the promised land by Israel when they ended their wilderness journey. To take up their inheritance meant strenuous conflict and activity, for there was much opposition from the kingdoms they were to dispossess. The maintenance of the required standard in the kingdom of God today also involves sustained vigilance and conflict, for the Adversary is always active.

In contrast to the turbulence and unhappiness prevalent in the kingdoms of men is the peace and joy characteristic of the kingdom of God. It is the settled inner peace that belongs to those who have found the place of God's rest. "Let us therefore give diligence to enter into that rest, that no man fall after the same example of disobedience" (Heb. 4:9,11). The kingdom is also a happy place for all those who truly subject themselves to the will of God.

The attainment of this righteousness, peace and joy is only possible through the gracious help of the Holy Spirit. He it is who guides us into all the truth and expands our limited horizons to appreciate the way of God. Only He can equip us to deal with the tricks and onslaughts of the Adversary. It is the blessed Comforter who will teach us all things and supply our minds with the words of Christ and fill our hearts with the glory of Christ so that we are able to serve Him as we should; but only if we allow the Spirit to work in us. He gives the power to serve in the kingdom of God, which is the place of divine service. "He that herein serveth Christ is well-pleasing to God, and approved of men".

Commitment to the Kingdom

The Lord's command is clear: "Seek ye first His kingdom, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Mat. 6:33). The kingdom of God must come first in the lives of its subjects, and is far more important than considerations of earthly comfort or material possessions. It follows that it is vital for the believer in Christ to find out what it is and be part of it.

Therefore also those who already belong to it should tell others about it so that believers who have never grasped the truths of the kingdom may be enabled to do so. It is not surprising to find that Paul and other servants of the Lord were tireless in preaching the kingdom of God. Philip the evangelist preached the good tidings concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 8:12). At the end of the Acts we read of Paul receiving all who went to him and preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness (Acts 28:30,31). We who have been enlightened should preach it too, but we must be prepared for opposition, even as Paul found at Ephesus when the subject of the kingdom of God provoked hostility in some of the hearers. He had to separate the disciples so that he could continue the instruction (Acts 19:8-10).

J.W. Archibald, Wembley, England | Oct 1988
A Centenary Review Of Major Themes