The Kingdom of God – What is it?

Jesus said that the reason he was sent to earth was the preach the kingdom of God. And then over the next three years he proceeded to do just that.

The four Gospels are filled with Jesus teaching people about different aspects of the kingdom. It is the subject of most of his parables, his public preaching, and his public teaching. And even after he rose from the dead, the kingdom was the primary thing he talked about with his disciples.

To the same apostles also, after his suffering, he presented himself alive with many convincing proofs. He was seen by them over a forty-day period and spoke about matters concerning the kingdom of God.

Acts 1:3

When you read the Gospels with this awareness, you will see that the kingdom of God was the main thing Jesus wanted people to be aware of. And because of this, you can be sure that if you do not understand the kingdom of God, then you are not going to understand a lot of what Jesus was teaching.

In my previous post I shared that many years ago I used to think that the kingdom of God was the place Christians go when they die. But later on as I began to study the kingdom, I found that I was very wrong about that. We can know for sure that the kingdom of God is not “the afterlife” because of verses like this one (and many others like it):

Your kingdom come. Your will be done. On earth as it is in heaven.

Matthew 6:10

Jesus told the disciples to pray that the kingdom of God would come to earth. If the kingdom of God is the afterlife, then this makes no sense at all. But when you put yourself back into the setting where Jesus was making these statements, the meaning of the kingdom of God becomes more clear.

To the Jews living in the 1st century, the kingdom of God meant the reign and rule of God on the earth through his people. And although they misunderstood some parts about the nature of the kingdom, they were correct in believing it was something that would happen on earth.

They were expecting the messiah to come as a military and political ruler who would cause Israel to rise up by force and rule the world. They were expecting a kingdom on the earth, not an eternal resting place in the sweet by and by.

So when Jesus said “the kingdom of God is at hand” they were not thinking about the afterlife at all. And when he said “the kingdom of God is like a man who sowed seed…” they were not thinking about the place you go when you die. They were thinking about experiencing that kingdom here on earth in a real and tangible way.

They were right to expect it to begin soon, but they were very wrong about how it expands and grows and increases. It does not grow and expand by military or political force, as we shall soon see.

A Definition

With all of that backdrop in place, I would now like to move forward into the purpose of this article, which is the answer the question “what exactly is the kingdom of God?”

The best answer I can give to that question is to quote the most clear and complete definition of “kingdom” I have ever come across in all my studies.

A kingdom is a governing influence of a king over his territory, impacting it with his will, his purpose, and his intent, producing a citizenry of people who reflect his culture and manifest his nature and glory.  

Dr. Myles Munroe

The best way to think about a kingdom is to think of it as a governing influence. A kingdom is the governing influence of the king over the citizens and the territory. It has a culture that is a reflection of the nature of the king. And the kingdom of God is God’s governing influence. It is God’s influence over the citizens of the kingdom, and over the territory where they live and work. This influence is implemented by the ministry of the Holy Spirit, and we are called to work with the Holy Spirit to bring God’s kingdom into manifestation on the earth.

Since that was a very long and technical definition, I would also like to provide a very short and simple one. The kingdom of God is God’s way of doing things. The kingdom is displayed when people cooperate with the Holy Spirit to express and perform God’s will.

From the very beginning of the Bible, we see that God desired to establish a kingdom on earth through mankind (Genesis 1:26). There had been glimpses of that desire at many times over the centuries prior to the life of Jesus on the earth. But when Jesus was 30 years old, John the Baptist was sent to prepare the way for Jesus by telling people to repent (change their minds) because the kingdom of God was at hand…it was about to begin.

Then we see the Holy Spirit coming upon Jesus after he was baptized in the Jordan river. This is when the kingdom came to earth. There was a “man” who was filled with the Spirit of God that went around doing God’s will and bringing God’s influence everywhere he went.

When Jesus began his ministry, his main mission was to preach the kingdom of God (Luke 4:43). And he went around announcing that the kingdom had arrived, and he demonstrated it by bringing God’s will – God’s way of doing things – God’s governing influence – everywhere he went. Since God is against sickness, Jesus demonstrated that by healing everyone that came to him. Since it is God’s will is for everyone to be free from demonic influence. Jesus demonstrated that by casting out demons and destroying the works of the devil.

But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Matthew 12:28

Then in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit fell upon the church and the kingdom grew from 1 to 120. Then it grew by 3000 (Acts 2:41) and then to 5000 (Acts 4:4). And it is still growing and expanding at an ever-increasing rate. More people are coming to Jesus and receiving salvation and entering the kingdom now than ever before.

So, God’s influence…his kingdom…is at work on the earth right now. If you have believed in Jesus, then the kingdom of God is within you. If you have received salvation and been born again (John 3:3), then God’s influence is at work inside of you now whether you know it or not. Your human spirit has been combined with the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 6:17), and you are forever changed on the inside (2 Corinthians 5:17, Hebrews 10:14). And over time that will change your thinking, your emotions, and eventually your actions. God’s governing influence is growing inside of you, and it is also growing all around you whenever you cooperate with God’s will.

Think about this: any time you do anything in-line with God’s will anywhere in your life, then God’s governing influence, i.e. His kingdom, has just come to that arena. It has just expanded through your cooperation with the Spirit of God.

• If you minister healing to a sick person by the power of the Spirit, then God’s kindgom has impacted that person’s health.
• If you set someone free from demons as all believers should do, then the kingdom of God has been enforced against the kingdom of darkness.
• If you own a company and you operate it according to Godly principles as you are led by the Spirit, then your business and all your employees and customers are under the influence of the kingdom of God.
• If you love your neighbor as you love yourself, then the kingdom of God has come into your relationships.
• If you trust God for your provision and manage your finances with Godly wisdom, then the kingdom of God is at work in your budget and your bank account.
• If you work in government, and you follow the Spirit in your decisions, then the kingdom of God is gaining ground in your area of influence.

One aspect of the kingdom that Jesus taught many times was that it is always growing and expanding. Consider these parables of Jesus that speak directly to this:

• The kingdom of God is like a man who planted some seed. The man goes to to sleep and wakes up each day, and the seed just grows even though the man doesn’t know how. (Mark 4:26-27)
• The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed. It starts out so small, but it eventually takes over the whole garden. (Mark 4:31-32)
• The kingdom of God is like yeast. Whenever it is added to a ball of dough, it spreads and causes the whole lump to rise. (Luke 13:21)
• The message of the kingdom is like some seed that fell on good soil. It grows and sprouts and multiples 30, 60, or 100 times over (Mark 4:8, Matthew 13:18-23)

These parables, and others like them tell us that whether you know it or not, the kingdom is already on the earth. It has been growing since the days of Jesus. It going to keep growing whether you are trying to make it grow or not. No one will ever be able to stop it. One way or another it is eventually going to take over, and the earth will be filled with the glory of God.

So to summarize, here are some of the main takeaways…

• the kingdom of God was the central message of Jesus
• preaching the kingdom is the primary reason Jesus was sent to earth
• the kingdom of God is not a place, it is the governing influence of God
• the kingdom of God is God’s governing influence in and around his people
• the kingdom of God is God’s way of doing things
• the kingdom of God is manifested and made tangible by the ministry of the Holy Spirit
• Jesus brought the kingdom of God to earth 2000 years ago
• the kingdom’s nature is to grow and expand, whether we understand it or not
• it has been growing and growing ever since it began, and will continue to do so