WHAT IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD?
Updated: Jan 13
Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father who art in Heaven, Your kingdom come. Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven” [Matthew 6:10].
What did He mean by that?
People wanted to be healed of their sickness, see miracles, signs and wonders, watch Him walk on water, raise the dead, and even ascend into Heaven, but what does that have to do with a Kingdom? Aren't Kingdoms ruled by Kings and have castles to live in on Earth?
“Kingdom of Heaven” appears 86 times in the four Gospels; Acts 28:31, Romans 14:1, 1 Corinthians 15:50, and also through Revelations. In Matthew 5 and 7, we see Jesus talk about how to 'enter the Kingdom' and later in chapter 12, He talks about the “truth” of the Kingdom of God, and bringing the Kingdom to those who are blessed.
Jesus wasn't talking about a physical Kingdom here on Earth, He was talking about a spiritual Kingdom in Heaven, the place where many mansions are prepared for those going home there, and the many wonderful places we see in Visions and Dreams, such as courtrooms; fields of flowers, the sea of glass, God's mountain, and the many multitudes of Angels singing Hallelujah! Yet, in every Kingdom there are rules, or principles, that are set by the King — Jesus is that King in Heaven — for the safety of the people living in that Kingdom, or under it's rule, and through those heavenly rules, that Jesus brought to humanity, we have received the laws of the Earth. Just like when you place your hand on the Bible in Court, you are abiding to those Kingdom Principles.
Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." [ Matthew 28:18-20]
The Old testament calls these rules, or laws, "precepts and principles." King David said "I will meditate [mutter and speak] in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways", he also said "O how I love the law!" After the death of Moses, God spoke to his assistant Joshua, telling him that He was going to give him the promised land that He promised Moses. God gave Joshua two direct commandments, or instructions, to follow in order for him to be and stay successful;
Be strong and of good courage, do not be afraid, God is with you
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate [speak it] in it day and night
"This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." [Joshua 1:8]
The Book of the Law are those principles. The Israelite's had a habit of doing what the neighbors did, because they once lived in Egypt, conditioned by their ways and beliefs, worshiping other gods, and idols. But God's desire was to be King over Israel, not a man to rule over them, but they rejected Him being King over them, and so He appointed Saul, a man, through the prophet Samuel, who in the end failed at being a real, true King!
The sin of Israel was not only that they rejected God as King, but wanted to be like all the other nations! And they paid for it in their souls! God was initially their King, giving them instructions, healing their souls, delivering them from enemies, giving them a winning streak in their wars. God gave them godly Kingdom purpose and direction, and with that came blessing, honor, favor, and power against all their enemies. But when the people of Israel, the nation of Israel, were infiltrated by allowing other pagan beliefs enter their thoughts and practices, whilst marrying women of other nations, they began to want to do the things of the other nations. Slowly they were being poisoned from within the camp, and therefore wanted a human king. God was reluctant to give Israel a human king, even though they demanded one because they were looking for an earthly king and not a heavenly King; they were not willing to wait for God’s timing and lordship over their lives, even after all the miracles, prosperity, blessing and favor He had given them! God was trying to give them back authority, reign and rulership over the Earth, they just wanted to be like everybody else!
God says, “they have rejected me from being king over them.” [1 Samuel 8:7]
HEAVENLY PRINCIPLES:
The Kingdom principles is the system in which Heaven and the universe operate, these laws are fixed. Jesus gave us the keys to operate withing them, when He said " we can bind and loose." These are the Keys to access the Kingdom that make the Kingdom of Heaven work. Once we understand this and the laws, the system, and the principles, all of heaven will be available to us to apply to our everyday lives. We don't need to beg anymore, we operate within the laws and boundaries of the Kingdom.
Jesus is King - far above all heavenly rulers, authorities, powers, and lords; He is superior! He has given us the authority to back the Kingdom on Earth! [Ephesians 1:21]
‘You must love your God with your whole heart, soul and whole mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment
You must love your neighbor as yourself
Righteousness, Peace, Love and Joy come from Gods Kingdom
It is up to us to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick [Luke 9:2]
Casting out demons with the finger of God [Luke 11:20]
We receive access to Heaven's blueprints and resources to appropriate the inner workings of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth
Love, give, honor, forgive, help others - all part of the Kingdom
Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother
The blessing of the Lord brings wealth and He adds no trouble to it [Proverbs 10:22]
Ownership and rulership on Earth and in the Supernatural
Heavenly Power and supernatural backup
Freedom to operate as a Son of God and an Heir to throne
As a Kingdom citizen we get the keys that will unlock the power of the Kingdom and make it work in our lives.
God 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. [Ephesians 1:20-21
When we swerve away from these Heavenly Kingdom principles, the bible says our soul dies, or is trapped and led by the Kingdom of Darkness. Also a very real kingdom, in the unseen realm, ruled by powers and principalities of darkness - fallen Angels - the Watchers, who disobeyed and rejected God's Authority, Angelic rule, and His Kingdom of Heaven, in creating their own kingdom of destruction and havoc. Our soul makes up our, mind, will and emotions, our desires and passions, and this Kingdom of darkness targets our very soul! The very thing that cries out to God when we are hurting, it is our Soul that is wounded and in trouble!
"For the enemy has persecuted my soul; he has smitten my life down to the ground; he has made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead." [Psalm 143:3]
When Jesus said "the Kingdom is in you!" He was talking about the spiritual God, His ways, His power through the Holy Spirit, being inside each and everyone of us, written on our hearts. God had given us authority and the Kingdom in Adam, but since the fall of Angels, stealing the Authority, rule and dominion from Adam, the first born, Jesus was trying to bring everything back to it's original plan — God as King and us as Rulers, ruling with Him in His principles of righteousness, love, joy and peace in the Holy Spirit [Romans 14:17]. He could see that His chosen people of Israel could not keep up with the laws, and were so easily persuaded by other nations, therefore He entered their hearts with His very own Spirit. That's why we have a longing to know God, and it was up to us to operate this Kingdom from within, not from without! "The kingdom of God is within you” [Luke 17:20-21], the translation of within you is: in the midst of you and in your soul!
When the Pharisees asked Jesus about this Kingdom, he answered them “The kingdom of God does not come with observation," because they were looking for an Earthly Kingdom! A castle, a human king, an army, and so on. They had lived through and been rescued by the Egyptian kingdom and Pharaoh kings, they were living under the Roman Empire, there was the Persian Empire, and so many other kingdoms that had come and gone, and ruled over them because of their disobedience and rejection to God, so they were trying to emulate this type of kingdom on Earth. But Jesus was bringing them God's rule and reign on this planet, He wanted to establish Gods Kingdom on Earth, just as the original plan when Adam was given dominion over the Earth and instructed to “subdue it.”
The word dominion means “rule or to have power over.” God has sovereign power over His creation and has delegated the authority to mankind to have dominion over the animals [Genesis 1:26]. Humanity was to "subdue" the earth [Genesis 1:28]—we were to hold a position of command over it; we were placed in a superior role and were to exercise control over the earth and its flora and fauna. Mankind was set up as the ruler of this world. All else was subjugated to him, not with violence or mistreatment, but “to bring under cultivation.” Man is the steward of the Earth, and he is supposed to bring the material world, and all the elements, into the service of God for the good of mankind. The command to subdue the earth is actually part of God’s blessing on mankind, because mankind were the only ones created in Gods Image!
You will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. [Exodus 19:5-6]
KINGDOM = sovereignty, dominion, and reign!
Jesus's message was all about the Kingdom of God. In Luke, He says we must “preach the good news of the Kingdom of God,” our great commission. The Kingdom of God is a spiritual rule over the hearts and lives of those who willingly submit to God’s authority, but those who defy God’s authority, and refuse to submit to Him, are not part of the kingdom of God, and are met with a terrible fate.
Jesus’ return is also part of the Kingdom of God, Revelation 11:15 says, “The Kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.” This means the Kingdom of God isn’t finished yet, and whilst we are operating the Kingdoms ways of God, with the Holy Spirit and with Jesus, He will return again.
The Kingdom of God is in us, and more is yet to come when Jesus returns for His reign on Earth. But sin [opposing God] must be fought and rejected, satan and his angelic hoards must be resisted, sickness must be prayed over and groaned under [Romans 8:23], and death must be endured until the second coming of the King and the consummation of the Kingdom.
We can be part of God's Kingdom today in this world, we just need to accept His rulership and reign over our lives, then operate together with Him in this world, to bring His Kingdom of freedom, healing, blessing, love, joy and peace to others.
Are you Kingdom minded?
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