We saw last night that the kingdom of God was established in the first century. There is no need to wait for the kingdom to come because it is already here, and it is the Lord’s church. When Jesus comes back, it will be to get the kingdom He set up the first time He came and deliver it to the Father (1 Corinthians 15:24).
Sadly, waiting for the kingdom to come is exactly what many who profess to be Christians are doing. Why? Because they have been taught that Jesus failed to do what He came to do due to the Jews rejecting Him, but that He will finally do it when He secretly returns in the rapture. We call this Premillennialism. It is accepted by millions, but it is a false doctrine concocted by man, but never taught by the Lord’s church in the first century.
One thing that can help avoid this false conclusion about the kingdom is understanding the nature of it. Those who think the kingdom is yet to come believe that it will be a physical kingdom that will be established in a specific, geographical location, that is, Jerusalem. Since that has never happened, they believe the rhetoric about a future kingdom. But Jesus never taught that the kingdom would be a physical one. He taught the very opposite.
Luke 17:20-21 (ESV)
20 Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, 21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”
If Jesus believed that the kingdom He was to set up was physical and that the dominion of the Romans would be broken, giving power back to the Jews, how could He say that the kingdom would come without observation? How would it be possible for an empire to fall and for another kingdom of a theocratic nature to be established without anybody knowing about it? Jesus did not come to set up an earthly kingdom that would control a certain geographical area. He came to conquer the hearts of men, turning man away from sin and to Himself. This is why Jesus said that the kingdom would be “in the midst of you.” The KJV says, “…the kingdom of God is within you.” The citizens of this kingdom would be those who allow God to reign in their hearts by faith.
This kingdom would be greater than any earthly kingdom. Its borders would extend to the whole world, wherever the gospel would be preached. Members of this kingdom would conquer souls for Christ the King, not with swords of steel, but with the sword of the Spirit. Jesus knew that this was to be the nature of the kingdom that He said was at hand. When we trace the thoughts of Jesus concerning the nature of the kingdom, we find that He taught at both the beginning and the end of His ministry that it was to be a spiritual kingdom. Notice what Jesus said about the kingdom at the beginning of His earthly ministry.
John 3:5 (KJV)
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
What kind of birth was Jesus referring to here? Nicodemus was thinking in physical terms because his view of the kingdom was physical. Jesus, however, says that the way into the kingdom does not involve being born a second time physically, but rather a person must be born again of the water and the Spirit. The water mentioned in the text is a reference to baptism. Even if this is denied, it should be obvious to all that the birth under consideration is spiritual. One becomes a citizen in this kingdom by faith and obedience (ver. 16; John 1:13), not by physical birth. Why? Because the kingdom into which one is being born is spiritual. From the beginning of His ministry, Jesus spoke of the coming of a spiritual kingdom. What did He teach toward the end of His ministry? Let us see.
John 18:36 (ESV)
36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”
Jesus is still speaking of His kingdom being spiritual. This is seen not only by His statement about the kingdom not being of this world, but also by Him emphasizing that His servants were not involved in any physical fighting. A physical fight is exactly what would be needed for Jesus to set up a physical, theocratic kingdom amid the Roman Empire.
The kingdom of God is spiritual. Jesus taught this both in the beginning and at the end of His ministry and there is no indication that anything was ever taught differently in between.
As you wind down for the night, think about these things.