The Kingdom of God Is Here and Now

Anyone familiar with the New Testament would acknowledge that the kingdom of God (sometimes called “the kingdom of heaven”) was the main theme of Jesus’ public teaching ministry. Both He and John the Baptist before Him came preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.” This message of repentance in preparation for the coming kingdom was accepted by Jesus’ apostles who, after His resurrection from the dead and ascension into heaven, carried it throughout the world. Ancient Israel had long cherished the hope of God’s reign (or rule) in place of ungodly worldly powers. That is, the Old Testament had often anticipated when God Himself would indeed be King; the New Testament witness was that the time had come.

Assuming both testaments of the Bible are trustworthy, and since two thousand years have come and gone, we can safely assume the kingdom has long since come. And since it was described as a kingdom that would never end, we can safely assume it is still here in our midst. That its coming was not chronicled at the time is no surprise since Jesus had said He, the King, would come like a thief in the night. That we cannot see it now is no surprise since Jesus said this kingdom was not coming with signs to be observed.

We should not be shocked that the kingdom of God is invisible, for God Himself is invisible. As for visible kingdoms, ancient Israel (glorious as it was at times) amply demonstrated their inability to adequately serve God. Even the New Testament church, glorious as it was (and it was indeed populated by some of the finest human beings Israel, or humanity, has ever produced), would become corrupt and apostate just before the kingdom came – thus demonstrating most dramatically how inadequate were kingdoms governed by men.

The kingdom that God has brought to us certainly cannot be shaken. Its incorruptible head is Jesus Christ Himself. Having demonstrated His nature and His power on the earth, He has come again – this time in spirit – to reign in every human heart. (For more on this, see the essay Jesus Christ Has Already Come Again.)This is the kingdom that ancient Israel in the Old Testament foreshadowed, just as the church of the New Testament further foreshadowed it. Those shadows, however, cannot fully reveal the glory of God in His kingdom which is without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.

In its simplest formulation, the kingdom of God is this: King Jesus reigning in your heart. He told us that we should love Him and love one another. And He made clear that love means not even thinking negatively toward your brother. If you obey Jesus in all that you think, then everything you say and do will take care of itself. A fuller explanation of how to enter the kingdom of God can be found in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7).

One of the parables Jesus told about the kingdom depicted the smallest of seeds becoming the largest of trees (Matthew 13:31-32). A single person – Jesus of Nazareth – has become King of the greatest of kingdoms. If you submit your heart to His rule, the glory of His kingdom will be reflected in your life. What is the main law of His kingdom? That we think, speak, and act as He did. That is to say, according to love.

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