Where is the Kingdom of God?

Kingdom

In July 2016 I wrote a brief analysis of my years at View Hill Fellowship and the inability to transition that fellowship from a programme based church to a cell church. This was not to minimise the many wonderful things that happened through those years but just to reflect on the key issue of cell church. I commented on the need for a clear biblical ecclesiology  which is missing from most Western churches.

Part of this is a defective understanding, in my view, of the nature of the gospel. In most cases the gospel is limited to the gospel of salvation, which is absolutely crucial, but is not what Jesus sent his disciples out to proclaim. Jesus came proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom of God which involves being “born again” before it can be either seen or entered (John 3). Over the past few years I have become more convinced of the absolute need to be clear about the Kingdom of God and the life that flows from that. Various views equate the Church with the Kingdom of God, or have a dominion view of an earthly kingdom, or several other variations of these views.

But the Kingdom of God is as different from these views as it is possible to be. There is nothing in common between the Kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world, including the religious kingdom.

Out ecclesiology needs to have a fuller understanding of our christology. The two cannot be separated. I will not go into depth about ecclesiology here, as the reason for this blog is a fuller understanding of the Kingdom of God.

Jesus’ teaching about the Kingdom is largely found in the parables which are designed to obscure the meaning rather than illuminate it (Matt 13:11-15). The meaning is only opened to the eye of faith. Even right to the end of Jesus’ life the disciples were confused about the Kingdom of God. They were still expecting the Kingdom to be an earthly, political kingdom rather than what Jesus came to inaugurate.

It was not until after the resurrection that Jesus taught clearly about the Kingdom. Those forty days were the key time for Jesus to correct their understanding of the Kingdom of God. After Pentecost the disciples were not only empowered to preach boldly, but also they had a totally different understanding of the Kingdom of God.

Throughout the time of the Old Testament the kingdom was national Israel. They were meant to be a holy nation which would spread the knowledge of God throughout the world. Instead they kept this knowledge to themselves and degenerated into a legalistic religion which established, and maintained, a separation of Jew and Gentile which was totally against God’s original plan for them. In Jesus this division was broken down (Eph 2) as the true Kingdom of God was revealed.

By the time of Jesus the Kingdom of God was focussed entirely on Jesus, so that He was the Kingdom of God.

This is the new understanding brought by Jesus as seen in the New Testament. The Kingdom of God is no longer about a political entity, but is about Jesus and Jesus alone. When Jesus died on the cross He declared that there was nothing that we can do to bring about our salvation. He has done it all. Paul and the other writers of the New Testament emphasises this over and over.

This flies in the face of all religious activity. Jesus has done it all, we contribute nothing. We appropriate this by faith, but add nothing to it. Paul went to great length to emphasise this, not only for salvation, but also for our very lives. One verse among many is Gal 3:3:

Galatians 3:3 NIV
[3] Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?

Romans 8 draws out the same point throughout the chapter.

When our nature and position in this new kingdom is discussed there is an emphasis on Jesus, not on us. Note the past tense in the following description:

This is seen so clearly in verses such as the following.

• Galatians 2:20 NIV
[20] I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

• Romans 6:5-6 NIV
[5] For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. [6] For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin---

• 1 Corinthians 2:2 NIV
[2] For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

• Galatians 6:14 NIV
[14] May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

• Colossians 2:9-15 NIV
[9] For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, [10] and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. [11] In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, [12] having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. [13] When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, [14] having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. [15] And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

• Colossians 3:1-4 NIV
[1] Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. [2] Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. [3] For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. [4] When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

• Ephesians 1:3-14 NIV
[3] Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. [4] For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love [5] he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will--- [6] to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. [7] In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace [8] that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, [9] he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, [10] to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment---to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. [11] In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, [12] in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. [13] And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, [14] who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession---to the praise of his glory.

• Ephesians 2:4-6 NIV
[4] But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, [5] made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions---it is by grace you have been saved. [6] And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,

• Ephesians 2:12-14,18 NIV
[12] remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. [13] But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. [14] For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, [18] For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

The description given to followers of Jesus is in terms that identify the believer with Jesus. In Paul’s phrase “in Christ” we have this summarised. We died with Jesus. Our life is hidden with Christ in God. It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me.

This is what Jesus prayed for in the high priestly prayer of John 17. He prayed that we would be “in Him” in the same way that He was in the Father.

Most understandings of these descriptions that I have read  speak of the description either in future terms or only in spiritual terms. However the language is clear. These descriptions are in the past tense and are meant to be taken at face value as a present reality.

The Kingdom of God is Jesus and only Jesus. We are in the Kingdom of God as we are in Him. It is this corporate identity that constitutes the kingdom now.

The only place where Jesus said what the Kingdom was is  “the kingdom is within you”. In every other case Jesus says that the kingdom is “like”.

Now we understand that the Kingdom being within us is another way of saying that we are in Jesus. It is Jesus who lives, we have died. Jesus was crucified as a sin offering for the sins of the world, and we were crucified with Him, just as we have risen with Him, since we are “in Him”.

Paul said that he wanted to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. This summarises everything that is important for us in this life and the next. This is the good news that Jesus came to bring. We enter the kingdom through new birth and then become one with Him, in reality, not just theologically.

Once the power of this is has been appropriated through having our minds transformed (Rom 12.1-3) we can start to live the life that Jesus calls us to, since it is just allowing Him to live His life through us. Then our ecclesiology becomes an easy matter to discuss. It will then be seen that many, if not most of the activities we engage in are not part of the Church that Jesus came to set up as His body and bride.

In brief, the church is meant to have two main activities: fellowship and equipping. Most of the activities we concentrate on belong in the family not in the church. But this is for another blog.