Questions and dialog about the Kingdom of God

Questions and dialog about the Kingdom of God

You said, “In God’s word the matter of a kingdom is the matter of a life. … (You must be saved into it)”

I cannot agree more. In God’s kingdom is life, righteousness, and peace. Being outside of this kingdom means to be cut off from these qualities. I see God’s kingdom in this visual. Draw a big circle on a board. This circle represents the Kingdom of God. Inside the circle draw two smaller circles. The first smaller circle is the prophetic program of Israel. The second smaller circle is the mystery program of the Body of Christ. The two smaller circles in the kingdom of God partakes of His life, righteousness, and peace. Thus, once you are in the Kingdom of God, you have life; you are quickened in spirit, and by this spirit you can participate in that kingdom.

Returning to the two inner circles, each of these circles come into this life, righteousness, and based on what they need to believe. John says, “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life”, 1Jn 5:12. Eternal life is found in the Son, and to receive that life means to believe in Him. For Israel, they had to believe in the identity of Jesus as their Messiah. For us in the Body of Christ, we must believe in what Jesus did. Both require faith in the Son of God, and through Christ, they are transferred into the Kingdom of God. I see this as the ruling and reigning of the life of God, outside of a set dispensation or time period.

You said, “In Matthew the Lord spoke much of the “Gospel of the Kingdom, rather than the gospel of grace. This kingdom is not as much a period of time as the ruling and reigning of the life of God.”

Where God’s kingdom, the outer circle is eternal, the two inner circles are dispensational and are connected to a set period of time. The gospel of the Kingdom is named this way because it has to do with an actual 1000-year kingdom on earth. Israel was to inherit this kingdom and reign within it, preeminent above the other nations. The grace gospel is named this way because it has to do with God’s grace to save men, not through their own doings, but through the doings of Christ, offered to them through the ‘utter grace’ of God. This dispensation of grace will also come to an end when the fulness of the Gentiles be come in, Rom.11:25.

You said, “Today most people think of the gospel as one of grace, but the word clearly shows the kingdom being the ruling and reigning of God’s life within us who believe.”

As mentioned above, and as I agree, the kingdom of God is that overarching realm in which all believers of all ages will enjoy God’s eternal blessings and presence. However, we cannot dismiss the fact that the Bible describes periods of time in which God dealt with humanity in different ways. Paul provides us three periods of note; times past, but now, and ages to come, Eph.2:7-13. The ‘but now’ period is our period of grace influenced by the mystery doctrine and our inheritance in the heavens. Times past and ages to come is that period of Israel, influenced by the prophetic scriptures and their inheritance in the earth.

The Bible says that at the end of the dispensation of the fullness of times [after the Millennial Kingdom and all judgements], God might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:, Eph.1:10. In Col.1:10 it says a similar thing, that God will reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. This is when the smaller circles are ended, Israel and the Body of Christ, prophecy and mystery, and everything becomes one entity within the Kingdom of God which will bring glory and honour to Jesus Christ and God.